Wednesday, April 26, 2000
Mayor asks court to nullify budget
Measure passed over veto
By Ray Schaefer
Enquirer Contributor
LUDLOW — Another week, another court action over the city's budget.
Mayor Tom Stacy has filed a complaint in Kenton Circuit Court seeking to nullify the $1 million budget City Council passed April 12 over his veto.
“We've got all these issues that are gray,” Mr. Stacy said Tuesday. “It has to do with the way this budget was passed. It puts all these issues in a judge's hands, and the judge determines whether we've got a budget.”
The complaint is the latest battle over a city budget that was supposed to be in place when the fiscal year began July 1, 1999.
City Attorney Pete Summe wrote the four-page complaint. It names Council members Sharon Dietz, Jack Redd, Ben Cloud, Fred Brooks, Ron Wofford and Garry Hatter Sr. as defendants.
“The Plaintiff Mayor does not believe that the ordinance is valid,” the complaint states. “If the mayor is bound by the new line-item budget ordinance, then he must cease making payments for necessary services in order to comply with the budget.”
Ms. Dietz, who with Mr. Stacy has opposed the rest of council concerning the budget, called the whole situation part of a “spirit of lawless ness let loose in Ludlow.” She was not surprised the complaint was filed.
Messrs. Redd, Cloud, Brooks, Wofford and Hatter could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
When council overrode Mr. Stacy's veto, a 5-0 vote in which all but Ms. Dietz were present, Mr. Wofford said the budget was “the best budget we've got in front of us.”
The original ordinance was passed on March 8. Mr. Stacy vetoed it nine days later because it was approved without public discussion and some items allegedly had no money to pay for them.
Council tried unsuccessfully to override the veto at the regular meeting March 24 and a March 30 special meeting. In each case, only four council members attended when five votes are needed to override a veto.
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