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Show .a Mayor Refuses To Sign New City Ordinance By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL - The new city ordinance increasing the water and sewer rates for owners of mobile homes still has not become law. MAYOR ELMER W. Barlow has refused, and still refuses, to sign the document which would make the ordinance passed by a 3-1 vote of the city council effective. The mayor told the council when the ordinance was passed a few weeks ago that he would not sign the document "because I won't sign something I don't believe in, and I don't think this ordinance or-dinance is fair to the persons concerned." THE CITY ordinance that governs the signing of other ordinances and policies states that the documents must be signed by the mayor and city recorder to become law. Until now-for as long as anyone can remember-this has been no problem. SIGNING OF the ordinance does not mean that the mayor favors or disfavors the ordinance or-dinance because he (mayor) only votes on any city council . issue when there is a tie vote of the council. In this case, there was a 3-1 vote with Councilman Don Perkins absent. "THERE IS a simple way of getting around the problem of the mayor refusing to sign the ordinance and that is to appoint ap-point a mayor pro-tern for the time necessary to make the appointment and for the mayor pro-tem-who has all the rights and powers of theJ mayor-to sign the document," said City Attorney Attor-ney Layne B. Forbes. But this hasn't turned out to be as simple as it may sound. Mayor Barlow said he would rather have the council members sign the document. "THEY ARE the ones who voted for the ordinance, so let them sign it," the mayor says. "I've checked with legal counsel and this can be done." But can it legally be accomplished ac-complished this way? ATTORNEY Forbes doesn't think so and he has asked the Attorney General's Office for an opinion. A representative of the AG Office told this reporter during dur-ing an informal discussion that he didn't know of any way council members could sign and make a city ordinance legal as long as the mayor was available to sign the document. "THAT PART of the state statute (from which Boun-tiful's Boun-tiful's ordinance governing the passing of ordinances and policies is derived) states that the council members can sign only in the absence of the mayor. "There is a section of state statute, however, that governs the appointment of a mayor pro-tem to assume the duties of the mayor-but again it is only if the mayor is ab sent, incapacitated or unwilling un-willing to serve," the AG spokesman said. HE INDICATED that perhaps the ruling could fall into the category of the latter (unwilling to serve). "But if it doesand the mayor is physically and mentally capa-. capa-. ble of serving-there is a possibility pos-sibility that the mayor could be cited for derelict of duty, and this could be a serious consequence," he said. Attorney Forbes said no action ac-tion will be taken on the issue until an opinion is received from the State Attorney General's Office in writing. "1 DON'T expect to get this in time for tonight's council meeting, but I do expect a reply within the next few weeks," the city attorney said. |