Posted on April 23, 2019
Town Attorney David Gaskill researched a question that was asked at last night’s Council meeting.
At the meeting last evening, the question was posed by Mr. Jim Hoppa as to whether the Budget Ordinance, if passed by the Mayor and Council, could be brought to referendum by the citizens of the Town of Berlin.
Section C3-12 of the Town Charter provides a mechanism for the voters to ordinarily file a petition with the Town Administrator requesting that an Ordinance passed by the Council and approved by the Mayor be brought to a referendum vote.
However, there is an exception in Section C3-12 regarding the annual Budget Ordinance. Specifically, Section C3-12 of the Town Charter provides that “the provisions of this section shall not apply to any ordinance adopting the annual budget and making the annual tax levy or levying taxes for the payment of indebtedness of the town.”
Accordingly, there is no right of the voters to petition the Budget Ordinance to referendum.
Categories: News