Board of Elections rejects former Warren Councilman's appeal of payroll referendum

A pay raise ordinance for Trumbull officials hit another second snag for appearing on the fall ballot due to a lack of valid signatures.

The Trumbull County Board of Elections has denied an appeal of a former Warren City Councilman for his referendum for an ordinance regarding a pay raise for elected officials in the city. The petition, which was first submitted in December, was unanimously voted denied by the Trumbull Board of Election, according to Board of Elections Director Stephanie Penrose.

The denied petition was over an appeal of former Councilman Ken MacPherson on his referendum for an ordinance to give pay raises to Council members, Mayor Doug Franklin and others within city government.

Penrose says the referendum was previously denied because it didn't have enough valid signatures. When MacPherson appealed this ruling, the board ruled that this was a court matter rather than a Board of Elections matter.

Back in December, a petition was filed in Trumbull County Court against the Warren City Auditor and the Board of Elections by Joryan Pizzulo of Warren.

According to court documents, Pizullo asked the court to mandate the city to halt the implementation of the ordinance. This petition has been dismissed as of Monday, March 4.

You can read more about the ordinance and the concerns of those opposing it in our related coverage below.

RELATED COVERAGE:

Questions remain over amounts of pay raises being considered for Warren's elected officials