By SALINA POST
A verified petition seeking to limit the Salina City Commission's ability to enact ordinances that impose restrictions on businesses or citizens in response to public emergencies was delivered today to the city clerk via certified letter.
In a news release issued this evening, petition organizer Kevin Korb, reported that the Saline County Clerk's Office verified 1,662 valid signatures on the petition before halting the verification process. Only 1,632 of the 2,114 signatures on the petition needed to be verified as valid, Korb noted.
Once that verification was completed, the petition was delivered to the city clerk's office. According to Korb, the city commission has 20 days to either adopt the ordinance proposed in the petition or allow Salina citizens to vote on the proposal in the November general election.
If enacted, the ordinance would prevent "the City of Salina Governing Body from enacting any ordinance, in response to a public emergency, that imposes restrictions on businesses or citizens, leaving that responsibility to Saline County and subject to the Kansas Emergency Management Act," according to a summary of the proposed ordinance.