City clerk Scott Borling announced at Monday night’s city commission meeting that he had received a
(File Photo) Mayor Bobby Hopewell speaks in front of a past meeting of the City Commision.
referendum petition concerning an ordinance passed in December that prohibits discrimination toward gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people.
Mary Balkema, former city commissioner and current Kalamazoo county treasurer, delivered a petition containing 1,452 verified signatures of registered Kalamazoo voters who do not want the ordinance to be passed.
The ordinance, which was passed unanimously by Kalamazoo City Commissioners on Dec. 1, focuses on reducing discriminatory actions in Kalamazoo business practices mainly toward the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.
Now that Borling has verified the signatures, mostly collected at local churches, the next step is for the city commission to either rescind the proposed ordinance or to get it on the next ballot for a community vote.
“The first thing the commission has to do is either rescind or possibly get it on the ballot as early as May,” Borling said. “The February election is too soon.”
If the ordinance was on the May ballot it would be sharing top bill with school elections and the city would take a financial hit as it would not be reimbursed for the ballot initiative, Borling said.
According to the city, charter any ordinance that receives a referendum petition is immediately suspended until such time that the city commission decides what to do during their next regular session, which is Jan. 12.
—By Craig Sudekis
Western Herald
