Petition turned into City, Article from Daily Herald

Scott L. Smith (2nd right) presents a letter and a petition with 2,112 signatures to Gina Peterson, the City Recorder for Highland, on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Highland residents petition to stop road bond proposal


Caleb Warnock - DAILY HERALD
HIGHLAND -- Highland residents took a major step on Tuesday toward defying City Council members over a hotly contested road bond proposal. Looking to stop Highland from issuing up to $5 million in controversial road bonds, residents on Tuesday handed over a petition signed by 2,112 registered voters, an effort weeks in the making, organized by dozens of volunteers who walked the city.

Scott Smith headed up the petition drive, aided by more than 50 supporters who combed the city asking for signatures. County election officials verified to the Daily Herald that petition supporters handed the official copy of the petition to the county at about 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Supporters then presented a copy to Highland officials at about 5 p.m.
"We have knocked on a lot of doors," Smith said.
Scott Hogensen, chief deputy clerk auditor for Utah County, said the county will now spend several days verifying the signatures on the petition against voter registration data. To force Highland to put the bond measure on the ballot, one-fifth of active registered voters in the city must have signed the petition.
Smith said he felt that those circulating the petition had gathered about 600 more signatures than they needed, as a safety net.
After verifying the signatures, the county will report its findings to Highland, and city officials will then have to decide whether the petition meets state requirements, forcing the issue onto the ballot, or not. If the issue does go to a vote of the public, that would likely happen in November, according to Hogensen.
Smith said things need to change in Highland, and the petition is manifestation of the public's displeasure toward elected officials.
"I've lived here for 20 years, and I have not been really pleased with the way the city government functions," Smith said.
This unhappiness came into sharp focus when Smith and neighbors learned the city was looking to purchase homes in their neighborhood in order to build a road. Smith said as he began looking into that, he found it difficult to get information from the city.
And the more he learned about the city's finances, the more alarmed he became.
"This city, in the past four years, has gone from $5 million in debt to $18 million, and with the road bond it would have gone to $21 million or $22 million," he said. "If you ask them how they are going to pay all that back, they won't tell you. There is an attitude that they know better than the rest of us, and I thought, 'Well, we'll see what the people think.' "
Smith said it has been difficult to get any information from the City Council about how much they want to borrow for roads, or specifically where and how the money would be used. In recent meetings, council members and city officials have agreed to back off the road plan, agreeing there was not enough information.
"We would like the city to be more transparent and open," Smith said.
Sharleen Shields helped gather signatures for the petition.
"They can't, won't tell you anything," she said, noting that she was frustrated after trying to get information about roads and road construction, especially after discovering the city may be planning a road near her home.
The city had a transportation committee that was not utilized well before the road bond controversy erupted, and since putting that committee back to work in February, "they have rehashed everything over and over and over, and haven't accomplished anything," Shields said.
Linda Robbins, who also helped gather signatures, said she and her husband have worked hard to get out of debt and became alarmed when they learned the city's per-resident debt total was ballooning.
Robbins also said she was frustrated after trying to learn information about road plans from city officials.
Cathy Smith, Scott Smith's wife, said she personally knocked on more than 200 doors to circulate the petition.
"In the cold, and in the snow, and in the wind," she said with a laugh. "I would say 19 out of 20 people felt some sense of anger that they didn't have access to information. The city is not giving any out [about roads] and when they do, it changes from day to day."