The 9isfine campaign, a petition drive to reduce the number of city council members from 12 to nine, will be announced May 2 at a press conference.

Dave Schulz, co-chairman of the campaign, said the group needs to collect 4,600 signatures, 10 percent of the electors who voted in the 2007 municipal general election, to get the issue on the Sept. 15 ballot.

Schulz said he and co-chairman Lindsay Webb, a city council member, agreed the representation on city council is skewed as most members live in the western or southern areas of Toledo. The campaign calls for “super districts,” where members would represent two districts each and reside in one of the two.

Council members receive $27,500, plus benefits, yearly and Schulz said the money from cutting three members and reducing staff could go toward hiring three or four police officers. Most members, he said, have a second job or are retired. The campaign hopes to collect the needed signatures by June 15 and turn them in to the clerk of city council office.

Schulz said he ran for city council in 2005 and addressed the issue of the size of the council. The idea failed because of a lack of grassroots support, he said.

“The timing is right now, with the budget problems and with the problems that have always been there with city council representation,” Schulz said.

For more information, visit www.9isfine.org.

— Julie Ryan

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 at 3:00 pm and is filed under City of Toledo, Community.
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