A local resident is starting a petition concerning a recent ordinance from Taylor City Council.
Terry Burris, who has lived in Taylor for 19 years, is attempting to organize enough signatures to garner a referendum on the council members’ decision to give themselves a pay raise.
“People are fired up about it,” Burris said. “It takes something like this to rally the troops sometimes.”
During the Aug. 17 special meeting, the council voted 3-2 to increase their stipends from $25 per month to $1,000 per month and $1,500 per month for the mayor position.
The ordinance came despite a compensation committee, appointed by the council, recommending $250 per month across the board.
According to the city charter, a petition to protest an approved ordinance must be signed by 10% of the number of qualified voters residing in the city. Additionally, the petition must be made within 30 days of its passage.
Burris figures that he needs to receive about 1,500 signatures by Sept. 15 in order for the referendum to be valid.
The city charter also says that the referendum election, if demanded, will be at the next uniform election date. The first available election date for the potential referendum would likely not be until the May election in 2024.
If Burris is able to gather enough votes to make the petition successful, the petition would be sent to the city clerk’s office to verify that the names on the petition are eligible voters. Burris thinks the city clerk could either look into every name or look into a sizable sample to confirm the signatures.
“I think it’s just to reduce the manpower requirements at the local government levels and things like that,” Burris said about the verification process.
While it started with just Burris, he said it’s grown into a team of four people who are handling the petition’s logistics. Burris said his team is using a multi-pronged approach to acquire enough signatures.
In order to reach a large enough audience, the team is implementing social media posts strategies to get their message across. One post highlights that they will be out at the farmer’s market event Saturday, Aug. 26 to collect signatures.
Additionally, Burris is partnering with businesses to have the petition available at their establishments.
Burris has provided his email to the public, allowing them to message him if they want to sign the petition. Then he personally drives to their house to allow them to sign.
“I’ve been involved in some type of local government for years, I’ve lived in Georgetown, Round Rock and Taylor,” Burris said. “This is the most excitement I’ve seen in local politics.”
For more information about the petition, email Burris at [email protected]
