Petition: Put council pay on ballot
Council's 'silence' on issue spurs action at grassroots level
GROVELAND
Petition: Put council pay on ballot
Council's 'silence' on issue spurs action at grassroots level
ROXANNE BROWN | Staff Writer
roxannebrown@dailycommercial.com
Thinking back, Groveland resident Glen Wilson still cannot believe the deafening silence in the room last month when he called for city council members to cut their pay.
The only board member willing to talk about it was Mayor Mike Radzik, When no one would make a motion to start the discussion, Radzik passed the gavel to the vice mayor in order to make the motion himself. Absent a second, the motion died.
"They wouldn't even discuss it," Wilson said of the proceedings. "I want to right that wrong."
Wilson, who asked the council to cut its pay once before when his own wife sat on the board, has now taken to the streets of Groveland in a grassroots effort to get the matter placed on the November general election ballot.
By the end of last week, Wilson had circulated about 400 petitions. His hope is to gather 600 signatures, a feat he predicts will be fulfilled in about two weeks.
"I'm looking to give a voice back to the voters, and the only way to do that is to put it on the ballot," he said, adding that in talking to residents, he's found that some are angry because they didn't realize the amount of pay council members are receiving.
"It's not right that only them (council members) and their supposed wisdom should prevail," Wilson said.
According to Lake County Supervisor of Elections Emogene Stegall, the signed petitions will be handed over go to Groveland's city clerk, whose responsibility will be to get them to Stegall's office.
Stegall's office will then verify that every signature collected is legitimate, and belongs to a registered voter. Once that is done, the petitions go back to the city to be presented to council for a vote to place the matter on the ballot.
Wilson said he hopes that council members either vote to cut their pay, or opt to let the voters decide. If not, he's prepared to take the issue to a judge.
"We are hoping we don't have to go that far but if they turn us down, we're going to ask a judge for an emergency hearing where he/she (judge) will intervene and compel the council members to honor the will of the people and place the issue on the ballot," he said.
Wilson said something similar has occurred in Groveland before -- in 2004 when the council considered less stringent rules for building in the protected Green Swamp area. The opposition at that time asked a judge to "compel council" to place the issue on the ballot and the request was granted. The people voted to overturn the council's decision.
Wilson's request for a council pay cut came after the board agreed to pay a consultant $5,000 to see if city employees are overpaid in comparison to those in similar-sized cities. Recent talks have included suggestions to cut employees' bonuses, holiday parties and benefits as a way to slash the budget.
Wilson contends Groveland's council members are the highest paid city officials in the area, and he wants to see the pay comparisons that are detailed in the consultant's report.
Wilson said council members in neighboring Clermont, a city that serves more than 25,000 residents (three times the size of Groveland), make considerably less. The mayor in Clermont makes $400 per month; Groveland's mayor is paid $1,050, he said. Council members in Clermont make $300 per month; Groveland's council members are paid $850.
Why the disparity? Wilson said in 2007, council members voted to increase their own salaries by 300 percent, based on a projection that Groveland's population would surpass the 26,000 mark. Today, the head count stands at just over 8,000.
"Now, they think keeping this pay is their entitlement," he said.
Dena Sweatt, another resident, said the council's inaction, which prevented citizens from speaking out on the pay-cut issue last month, was a blatant show of disrespect to those who had waited hours to be heard.
"They should have at least let people talk," she said. "Even if they would have ended up not cutting their pay, they should have at least discussed it. Instead, they didn't say a word; that's not good. Talk about committing political suicide."
Sweatt said council members shouldn't even be attempting to take pay from employees if they are not going to reduce their own salaries.
"The council should understand that fair is fair," she said. "They should at least do something to show they are working with their own city."
Mayor Radzik declined when asked about the recent council action. He said council members and other city officials have been advised by the city attorney to refrain from commenting on the matter.
Friday, May 11, 2012 - www.dailycommercial.com/051112pet