Petition matter in Byram going to court

BYRAM — Byram township clerk Doris Flynn said she will not present to the council a petition that seeks to repeal a higher spending budget ordinance passed earlier this year by the township council. The petition, intitiated under the Faulkner Act by a coalition of five Byram residents, has popular support in the township with 25 percent of residents' signatures who voted in the last election. On March 26, the coalition filed a complaint in the Morris/Sussex Superior Court "seeking a proper referendum petition process that, if successful, will curtail spending increases, require Byram's government to respect the taxpayer and for once meet the state-imposed spending limit mandate." Township officials said that tax ordinances are not subject to repeal through the referendum process. Byram Township has allocated $5,000 to "defend tax appeals" in the 2012 budget that was passed unanimously by the council on March 6.