Port Richey's march toward more professional governing continued last week when the City Council correctly terminated Vince Lupo as its city manager. Previously, the council picked highly regarded Jerry Figurski as its city attorney after longtime lawyer Paul Marino resigned.
Against this backdrop, however, is a movement in some quarters to disband the city. On April 30, the five-person committee that formed in January to seek a referendum on abolishing the city faxed a statement to the Times saying it intended to continue with its mission.
"We feel the City Council has an obligation to place this issue on a referendum so that the residents can make an intelligent and informed decision at the polls," said the text from Drs. Robert Goluba and Steve Johnston, and Chuck Boyer, Ed Olson and Gene Rees. The group cites the expense of living in the city as its top reason.
They are certainly free to petition their government. But they better expedite their effort if they intend to get the issue before voters in the Aug. 31 primary election.
According to the city's charter, residents may petition for a referendum to overturn a local ordinance by collecting signatures from 10 percent of the city's registered voters. That means 204 valid signatures, according to the registration books for the April election.
The petitions must be verified by Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning, then presented to the City Council. The city attorney would need to draft appropriate ballot language, and a public hearing would have to be scheduled. Approved ballot language must be returned to Browning's office by July 16, the end of the candidate qualifying period for the primary.
We mention all this because the City Council is scheduled to meet in regular session only three more times before the qualifying deadline. A committee sincere in its beliefs would make better use of its time collecting signatures instead of sending statements to the newspaper.
The committee's language to ask residents to make "an intelligent and informed decision at the polls" also requires substantial effort. The group's initial information, touting the tax savings of living in the county's jurisdiction instead of inside a municipality, failed to account for the separate 1.73 mills fire-protection tax charged by Pasco County.
Likewise, the group should allow its motives to be scrutinized. As noted here previously, ex-council member Tom Brown, who previously advocated dismantling the Police Department, recruited members of the committee to push the petition. Brown resigned his seat on the council during the 2000 investigation of then-Acting Mayor Bob Leggiere's meddling at the Building Department.
Still to be determined is whether such a referendum is allowed under the city charter. Marino, on his way out the door, suggested it is not. A petition can address a particular ordinance but not the city's existence. Such a referendum would require a resolution from the City Council.
The irony cannot be ignored. Seven years ago, when Fred Miller sought assistance from the state legislative delegation on a referendum to merge Port Richey with New Port Richey, the city's officials argued it was unnecessary because the charter made allowances for such a referendum with the appropriate signatures.
Now Miller sits on the council and may be asked to consider another referendum effort. According to the ex-city attorney, Miller and the rest of the council would be correct to answer that the charter doesn't allow it.
The recent election of Miller and Greg Ross to the council and the changes in city staff should boost public confidence in Port Richey's ability to govern itself. At this point, asking for a referendum to dissolve the city remains premature.
