We are beyond thrilled.

Enough of the abuse of the emergency ordinance.  The Goldwater Institute has filed suit.  The cause of action is based on the use of an emergency clause.  That cause was part of our original complaint.  Co-Plantiff Nichols asked for dismissal when the Town filed a counterclaim against Plaintiffs Transparent Payson and Jeffrey Aal.  The Counter Claim did not seek damages/costs from Ms. Nichols or name her as a defendant, only Transparent Payson and Jeffrey Aal.  That turn of events is discussed here.  Rose versus Town of Payson is a separate cause of action than is ours.  We hope it will shed light on the Town’s actions and possibly our group’s efforts.

When the sales tax was passed via an emergency ordinance, the Town issued a serial number to circulate a referendum. That was recently discussed during the KMOG interview. We discussed the actual issuance of the number here. We are beyond proud of Ms. Deborah Rose.  She has long been a friend of our group’s efforts.

“Our leaders want our money, but not our vote,” Deborah says. “They’re trying to take advantage of legal loopholes to saddle their own constituents with tens of millions of dollars of debt, systematically stripping power from the people by ignoring laws and twisting their truths.”

We have said the same before.  We will keep you updated on this case as we do our own.

The case overview from Goldwater Institute may be found here:

Arizona Town Illegally Dumps $70 Million Debt on Residents; Goldwater Sues

When the town of Payson, Ariz., decided to take on $70 million in debt without voter approval, resident Deborah Rose wanted to do something about it. But she couldn’t because the town misapplied the law to create a loophole preventing citizens from challenging it. Now, with the Goldwater Institute’s help, Deborah is suing the town to put a stop to the spending that will put taxpayers in debt for 25 years.

There is additional information on the Goldwater Institute Case Overview here.

The big dogs are now involved.

The application for a temporary restraining order is below in pdf format as is the complaint.  We generally have our hand out asking for donations.  If you can, you may want to donate to the Goldwater Institute as well.

Rose Vs. Town of Payson Complaint

Application for Temporary Restraining Order.