South Whitley residents file suit against county for alleged illegal meeting
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
The buzz in South Whitley for the past several days has been about the lawsuit regarding the alleged "illegal meeting" held by the Whitley County Council in July.
On that day, two meetings with two different votes took place, with different outcomes. The first meeting were held on July 28 at 8 a.m involving the proposed Whitko School Board referendum which we reported about on July 29 (click here to read it). The second meeting was held a short while later and the vote outcome was reversed.
Councilmen present for the meeting included Tom Western, Glen Larue, John Barrett, Jim Bayman and Kim Wheeler. Bayman was not present at the second meeting held that morning. Councilmen Jim Banks and Bill Overdeer were not present at either meeting.
Talk of the Town shared the details of both meetings on August 30 (click here to read it).
This week, Steve Sickafoose, Stan Sickafoose, Dale Haupert and Doug Reiff filed a lawsuit against the county council, commissioners and county attorney Dan Sigler asserting that the second meeting was illegal and, therefore, the vote should not stand.
Eventually, the case will be heard in Whitley Circuit Court, but not before the subject of the vote actually takes place. On Tuesday, Whitko District residents will vote on the referendum that, if approved by voters, would levy a new tax. The new tax, if approved, is anticipated to be up to 20 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Across the Cleveland-Richland landscapes, signs have popped up both for and against the levy. Additionally, several large advertisements against the levy have been purchased by concerned citizens in the Tribune-News urging residents to vote against the levy.
The buzz in South Whitley for the past several days has been about the lawsuit regarding the alleged "illegal meeting" held by the Whitley County Council in July.
On that day, two meetings with two different votes took place, with different outcomes. The first meeting were held on July 28 at 8 a.m involving the proposed Whitko School Board referendum which we reported about on July 29 (click here to read it). The second meeting was held a short while later and the vote outcome was reversed.
Councilmen present for the meeting included Tom Western, Glen Larue, John Barrett, Jim Bayman and Kim Wheeler. Bayman was not present at the second meeting held that morning. Councilmen Jim Banks and Bill Overdeer were not present at either meeting.
Talk of the Town shared the details of both meetings on August 30 (click here to read it).
This week, Steve Sickafoose, Stan Sickafoose, Dale Haupert and Doug Reiff filed a lawsuit against the county council, commissioners and county attorney Dan Sigler asserting that the second meeting was illegal and, therefore, the vote should not stand.
Eventually, the case will be heard in Whitley Circuit Court, but not before the subject of the vote actually takes place. On Tuesday, Whitko District residents will vote on the referendum that, if approved by voters, would levy a new tax. The new tax, if approved, is anticipated to be up to 20 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Across the Cleveland-Richland landscapes, signs have popped up both for and against the levy. Additionally, several large advertisements against the levy have been purchased by concerned citizens in the Tribune-News urging residents to vote against the levy.