Court rejects appeal on fire ballot issue
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published Aug. 27, 2008

An appeals court decision rejecting a citizens group plea to put a minimum staffing level for fire department shifts issue on the November ballot has city officials moving ahead with plans for filling department openings.

In rejecting a plea by the Bay Citizens for Safety group, the Ohio Eighth District of Appeals said the language of an initiative petition must avoid misleading electors.

Mayor Debbie Sutherland said the city was not surprised by the ruling and is moving ahead.

“Based on the incorrect language, we felt the ruling would come out like this,” the mayor said. “We’re going to act on the manning issues by first hiring a firefighter to fill the position left open with Matt’s (Linder) death and then we will hire a floater.”

Sutherland said city officials plan to have the moves made by the end of the year if not sooner.

Officials from the citizens group and the Bay Village firefighters union expressed disappointment with the ruling and said they are still considering their next move.

In the opinion, the appeals judge cited language in the citizens’ group petitions preamble which said it “was circulated and voted upon by the people of the city of Bay Village” is misleading. Bay Village Law Director Gary Ebert had cited the language in telling the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections the proposal shouldn’t go on the November ballot because the petitions were flawed as a result. The board agreed, prompting the citizens group to rule the staffing issue must go on the ballot.

“In the present case the language in the preamble that the petition ‘was circulated and voted upon by the people of the City of Bay Village’ is misleading on its face,” the court said in its opinion. “It is untrue that when circulated or while under consideration on election day, that it had ‘been voted upon.’ This could cause at least two deleterious effects.

“First, it could cause consternation among electors thinking ‘what are we doing signing this petition or voting on it if it has already been circulated and voted upon?’ Second, an elector could think that the measure has already been passed and all that is being asked is to ‘get on the bandwagon’ and approve that which has already been approved,” the court opinion said. “This could make obtaining signatures or votes much easier.”

Court members said the clause was unnecessary and that statues and the City Charter don’t require it.

“Because these misleading tendencies are in the form of the petition and visible on its face, the Bay Village City Council acted properly when it refused to submit the subject initiative petition to the Board of Elections,” the opinion said.

Martin Mace, the Bay Village firefighter who serves as a spokesman for the Bay Citizens for Safety, issued a statement following the court ruling saying the court had made its ruling based on a technicality.

“Through the illusion of confusion, the Sutherland administration was able to create enough doubt to have the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals deny the Bay Citizens for Safety Writ of Mandamus….A grassroots effort to have an issue affecting people’s lives decided by the people has been blocked by the powers that be in this city.”

Mace said in the statement that decision in no way addressed the issue of safety in Bay Village.

“The citizens of Bay Village have been subjected to less fire and EMS coverage through a decrease in minimum manning,” Mace said. “A recent proposal of adding one firefighter, ‘the floater,’ says nothing about the number of firefighters that are to be on duty at all times. The issue remains the same. The Bay Citizens for Safety Committee was formed to bring this issue to the people, to let them have a say in the level of safety they want within their community. We will continue our efforts and appreciate your continued support.”

Mace concluded by saying other issues and candidates appear on the November ballot and urged people to vote. He declined further comment on possible future plans, noting the decision had just happened and that the group has not had sufficient time to consider its options.

Jim Walts, head of the Bay firefighters union, said his group still believes the issue needs to be dealt with.

“It’s frustrating because the ruling was made on a technicality,” Walts said. “The problem of manning and having sufficient staff on duty to do the job still exists. We are still going to need to address that issue at some time.”

Walts said his group would discuss the issue again as well as talk with Citizens Group about possible future options such as redoing the petitions to try and get the issue on a future ballot.

“We’ll have to discuss our various options and make a decision after that,” Walts said. “We just would like to get the issue dealt with.”

City Council President Brian Cruse said it’s time to move ahead for all parties.

“Naturally, we’re pleased by the decision,” Cruse said. “The thought remains for me that it is unfortunate it had to come to this. We are addressing the manning issue with the floater position ,which from what I understand will cover most of the calls when we are short. I would hope we all can move on from here.”