Some Washington County residents hope a lawsuit they filed last week will stop a proposed countywide sales tax from being implemented. Citizens for Effective Transit says the Quorum Court didn't follow the law in putting the tax before voters.
The group made up of about nine people and a local attorney say their lawsuit against the Washington County Quorum Court is not about stopping the tax vote. They say it’s about making sure the law is followed.
"We're asking Judge Mason to tell the Election Commission and ultimately the Quorum Court that the vote cannot be certified,” says attorney Brian Lester. “It shouldn't have been placed before the voters and so it'll have the effect of not going before the voters."
Lester says there weren't enough votes from quorum court members to put the tax on the ballot.
"They needed to have a 3/5 vote to carry the ordinance, to place it before the voters,” Lester said. “They also to refer it to the voters, they also had to do a referendum and they never did that. So there are a couple of things that they missed, as far as the law is concerned."
But attorney George Butler says this particular sales tax vote uses a different statute, which only requires a majority vote from the court.
"The general statutes says if the quorum court wants to refer something to the people, not something that they have to like, ‘Well, we passed something, I think we ought to have a public vote,’” Butler said. “They refer and that would require eight votes. But this other statute doesn’t say that. If the Quorum Court passes the ordinance they must call an election."
Butler encourages voters to cast their ballots, despite the lawsuit.
"They should vote and not feel like it's a waste of time,” Butler said. “I feel strongly, confident that the court is not going to interfere with the electoral process. If you're against it, go out and vote against it. If you're for it, go out and vote for it."
Washington County voters will head to the polls a week from Tuesday to vote on the proposed quarter-cent sales tax for Ozark Regional Transit. Early voting takes place at the county court house until 5 p.m. next Monday.