To the editor:
Dear Superintendent Cann and District 9 board members:
Two months ago, Granite City District 9 passed a “backdoor referendum” to issue $20 million of “working cash” bonds and on Nov. 22 put a public notice in the Belleville News-Democrat.
This backdoor referendum is a legal loophole to avoid voter approval when issuing bonds that will be repaid with higher property taxes.
A better – and the old-fashioned – way is to put it on the ballot for the people to decide. That’s called a “front door referendum.”
The public notice stated that the only way for taxpayers inside District 9 to vote on this bond issue was for them to collect 2,653 signatures within 30 days from Nov. 22.
That’s a difficult task, especially when the 30-day period – chosen by the district – finds people busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s dark and cold, and people are reluctant to answer the doorbell.
I didn’t see this public notice – despite the fact that I check Illinois Public Notice weekly – looking for notices just like these. I check for Madison County – not St. Clair County – and the “publication county” for the BND is St. Clair County. That’s why I – and many others – did not see it.
Because part of District 9’s area is in the City of Edwardsville, I believe the backdoor referendum notice should have been in the Edwardsville Intelligencer. Please see 715 ILCS 5/11.
Even if District 9 didn’t overlap into the City of Edwardsville, I believe this notice should have been published in Madison County.
Based on my understanding at this point, I don’t think the notice of the backdoor referendum was proper.
Regardless of the legal issue, I believe the “right thing” for District 9 to do is to put this $20 million bond issue on the ballot for the people to decide.
Kurt Prenzler
Madison County Board Chairman