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Home My WebLink About04- Announcements = `THURSDAY-` SB i Febrijairy 15, 2001 } 16 OOOM P us sign, By GINA BOTIINER ballot,City Clerk Rachel Clark said. Staff,Writer The referendum proponents turned ir. SAN BERNARDINO—A p ou try-, more than 6,400 signatures,Clark said.' If enough signatures are certified by ing to overturn the City Council's repeal the county registrar of voters, the referen- of an ordinance that pertains to hiring out- dum will be placed on the November bal- � side legal counsel delivered more than lot or a special will be called. 6,000 signatures for a referendum to the The ordinance,repealed by the council city clerk on Wednesday., on Jan. 16,required the mayor and coun- The Committee for Integrity in San cil to get the city attorney's permission to Bernardino City Government needed hire outside lawyers. 4,159 signatures by today to qualify to Members of the committee,chaired by have the repealed ordinance put on the former Mayor Evlyn Wilcox, believe the f� repeal was contrary to the voters' defeat pleased," she said. "There were a lot of i of Measure M,which.would have revised dedicated workers who really worked O the city's charter. Among the charter very hard through thick and thin and rain changes proposed in Measure M, the city and cold." Cj attorney's job would have become an ap- Seventh Ward Councilwoman Wendy pointed rather than an elected position. McCammack, one of the proponents of Council members who supported the the,referendum, is asking the mayor and repeal have said the ballot measure and council to encourage Clark to disqualify , repeal had nothing to do with one another. herself as the elections official on the ref- (D -a i. Wilcox said the number of signatures erendum issue. indicates 'San Bernardino residents feel McCammack said she has a "great -Z.:.. . strongly about the issue. deal of concern about the ability of the ° "Obviously, we were very pleasantly See REPEALIB6 However, Clark said her of- Schnetz said. "I don't see any �' Re. fice delayed printing the council conflict." agenda because they had been He called the request an at- notified that there would bean q Continued from B1 tempt to polarize the communi- addendum. ty„ city clerk's office to remain im- "We knew there was an agen- Clark said the committee's partial,"on the referendum issue, da item coming, but had no idea petitions were hand-delivered to citing the attendance of Clark at all what was the subject mat- the San Bernardino County reg- and members of her staff at a ter,"she said. isirar of voters office on gathering of Measure M support Other council members scoff- Wednesday: Elections officials ers on electionmight. ed at the suggestion Clark step have 10 days to certify the signa- Clark said she had not had aside during the referendum pro- tures,she said. time to read the letter from cess. "We just have to wait for the McCammack and Wilcox or "I don't see what this has to verification procedure to be fin- McCammack's request for coun- do with Measure M," Fourth ished and then we take next cil action. Ward Councilman Frank step,"Clark said. J ' 7i/ V MS San Bernardino City clerk certifies signatures San Bernardino City Clerk Ra- chel Clark on Monday certified as sufficient the signatures on a peti- tion filed in opposition to a City Council action seeking to make it easier for the city to seek legal ad- vice from someone other than the elected city attorney. The County Registrar of Voters determined that the petition,sub- mitted by former San Bernardino Mayor Evlyn Wilcox and City Councilwoman Wendy McCam- mack,contained the required 4,159 signatures. The certification will be present- ed to the council at its meeting Monday.At that time,the council must either repeal its action or put the matter to a citywide vote. The Press-Enterprise Entered Into Rec, at MCCICDC Mtg:_ by: Agenda Item c, C11 of San Bernardino SAN THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2001 BE RNARDINC tes CIty Vo- Estrada,who brought the matter to the CITY t V rescmin' d council in the first place,said she has ques- tioned for years why the mayor and court- Continued from B-1 cil cannot hire outside lawyers without the city attorney's recommendation. %e.s*d is up for re-election in the Novem- - the city charter maybe interpret 0g,'3� ber primary,said hatred and hos e a e such discretion. tility have won out on many issues "This is such a crucial and important concerning the city attorney's of- issue it probably needs to be laid to rest once fice. and for all,"Estrada said."I urge this mayor "This issue is so divisive that ordinan e and council to take this issue to a courtroom they'd vote me out tomorrow," —where it belongs." Lien said."I don't want to spend a City Attorney James Penman,however, minute of my time fighting a ballot ►A petition drive by San argues that the charter establishes the city measure." attorney as the city's chief legal officer. Councilman Gordon McGinnis, Bernardino residents had Other lawyers already have analyzed the who said he missed Monday's revented the action from question and determined that part of the meeting because of work commit- p city attorney's role is to decide when out- ments,said it makes sense to give taking effect last month. side legal expertise is necessary,he said. the mayor and council say over Councilwoman Susan Lien said she wants when second legal opinions are By Joanna Banks to reverse the council's decision rather than needed. The Press-Enterprise put the issue to a citywide vote.Lien,who "Some people don't want to trust SAN BERNARDINO Please see CITY,B-3 us to do our jobs and so they went Public outcry appears to have blocked an out and collected their signa- attempt by the San Bernardino City Coun- tures," McGinnis said. "We can cil to make decisions about hiring outside still let the city attorney give us his lawyers without the approval of the elect- advice, and then if we feel we ed city attorney. need secondary advice,we can get The council cast a preliminary vote on it and then we weigh the two Monday taking back its 4-3 January action opinions." that was designed to give the mayor and council the authority to decide when out- side legal opinions are needed. San Bernardino residents stopped the action from taking effect last month by pro- ducing about 6,400 signatures on a petition against it.Many petition supporters,led by Councilwoman Wendy McCammack and former city Mayor Evlyn Wilcox, chal- lenged the move as a potential waste of tax- payer dollars. The council will take a final vote at its next meeting March 19, when it could either officially take back its action or put the matter to a citywide vote. Monday's preliminary vote,initiated by Councilwoman Betty Dean Anderson, was opposed by members Esther Estrada and IN BRIEF SAN BERNARDINO nance pertaining to independent neys for a. second opinion if Restriction restored counsel sparked outrage among council members are uncomfort- supporters -of City Attorney able with advice from the elected on hiring lawyers James Penman. They launched a city attorney.. petition drive to force the council Hoping to end months of in- to reconsider its action or put the SAN BERNARDINO fighting among two factions on repealed ordinance'to a vote of ae City,Council, the mayor and the people. City will invite he city attorney, the council Second Ward Councilwoman Omnitrans speakers ,oted Monday to repeal a contro- Susan Lien, who sided with the 'ersial ordinance. City officials on Monday majority in January, said the is- !agreed to invite Omnitrans offi- The 4-2 vote overturns the sue was causing too much divi- cials to speak at a special City ;ouncil's January repeal of a city lion in the city and the success Council meeting next Monday. :ode that required the mayor and of the petition drive warranted A group of Westside resi- souncil'to get the city attorney's consideration. dents, who carried signs outside ipproval to hire outside awyers. `The point I wanted to make of City Hall from 8 a.m.until the First Ward councilwoman was it's not worth risking all the council meeting ended at 4:30 "sther Estrada and 3rd Ward accomplishments of the ,mayor p.m., said they are still being �ouneihnan Gordon McGinnis and council over one issue" she plagued by nauseating odors iissented; 4th.Ward Councilman said. "What's really important is from an ,Omnitrans fueling sta crank Schnetz was absent- - to prioritize. We have so many tion near Ramona-Alessandro The January repeal of an ordi- Plans to bring this'city back to a Elementary School. desirable place to live and work The odors, which residents and do'business." said cause nausea and headaches, McGinnis, who was absent and worsen allergies and asthma from the previous council meet- symptoms, are coming from an in said he maintains his posi- additive to the compressed natu- tion that the council should be ral gas used to fuel the,buses. able to request independent attor- The additive, methyl mercap- tan,-is-used so leaks can be de- tected. Compressed natural gas is otherwise odorless.. Marilyn Alcantar, who chairs the _ Westside Residents for Cleaner Air Now committee, said the residents want the fuel- ing station relocated. "We're fed up," she said. "This has been going on for three years." Onu itrans has developed an action plan to rein in the escape of the odorous'gas,including ur-. creasing inspections at the fuel- ing station and installing a tem- porary filter to remove gas odors during repair maintenance.' I —Staff Reports