July 8 new deadline for 1% petitions

Fort Smith City Clerk Sherri Gard quickly complied Tuesday with a court order requiring the city to give petitioners seeking a vote on a 1% prepared food tax another 10 days to correct or amend signature problems.

The letter gives the petitioners until 5 p.m., July 8 to submit new or corrected signatures.

With that deadline established, the attorney for the petitioners began Tuesday evening the campaign to gather signatures in the 10-day period.

Sebastian County Circuit Court Judge Michael Fitzhugh issued an order Tuesday afternoon (June 28) that forced Gard to give the Citizens for Responsible Taxation 10 days to correct deficiencies “related to the insufficient number of verified signatures.”

The signatures were part of a petition effort by restaurateur Eddie York and other members of the Citizens for Responsible Taxation seeking to force a vote on a 1% prepared food tax that would support operations of the Fort Smith Convention Center.

(Link here for the full story on Fitzhugh’s ruling.)

Gard said the letter she had hand delivered to Fort Smith attorneys Brian Meadors and Josh Bugeja was reviewed and approved by Jerry Canfield, the city’s attorney. She also confirmed that language in the letter also serves to preserve for a possible appeal the city’s opinion that no proper ballot title was submitted with the petitions. The city considers this a fatal flaw for the petition effort.

“While complying with the Court’s Order of June 28, 2011, the City of Fort Smith and my office do reserve and restate the position that not ballot title was submitted with the referendum petition as required, that none was submitted during the original ten day correction or amendment period, and that the title on the petition, as discussed by Judge Fitzhugh, at page 5 of the Order, is legally insufficient,” Gard wrote.

To ensure that his clients gather at least 2,822 valid signatures, Meadors sent an e-mail late Tuesday explaining the process by which opponents of the 1% prepared food tax should gather signatures, and where signatures should be delivered by July 7. Meadors included in the e-mail a copy of the petition form and other necessary documents.

“Please print out the ENTIRE FORM and STAPLE IT.  Please have everyone you know (that is a Fort Smith citizen) sign the form IN YOUR PRESENCE,” explained in the e-mail. “Use as many forms as you need.  Then, AFTER you have all the signatures you want on the form(s) (you don’t have to fill a page, you can have less), go to a notary and sign the verification (page 2) before the notary.”

Meadors said signatures should be delivered no later than July 7 to Art’s BBQ, 4620 Rogers Ave.; C&H Tire Company, 4618 Wheeler Ave.; George’s Restaurant, 2120 Grand Ave.; Catfish Cove, 1615 Phoenix Ave.; Juan’s, 3121 Towson Ave.; Meadors Law Firm, 523 Garrison Ave., 3rd floor; and the law office of Joel Price, 515 Garrison Ave.