The North Platte City Council’s regular meeting drew a full crowd who anxiously awaited the final item on the agenda.

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At issue was the fate of five sheets of signatures gathered by petitioners attempting to amend the city’s occupancy tax by putting the issue on the ballot in May.

The council previously contracted with Lincoln County Clerk Rebecca Rossell to count and determine the validity of the signatures.

Fifteen percent of registered voters in North Platte were required to sign the petition for the issue to be put onto the ballot.

Petitioners gathered 3,235 signatures were collected, well above the 2,198 needed. However, Rossell dismissed 1,067 of the signatures, leaving the measure 30 short of where it needed to be.

The petition had to be signed by registered North Platte voters to count.

Rossell also dismissed five sheets of signatures for various reasons: three were not signed by the signature gatherer, one was not stamped by a notary public, and another was not signed by a notary public.

Rossell informed the city council that if they instructed her to do so, she would disregard those errors and determine the validity of the signatures on the discarded pages.

The council voted not to send the pages back to Rossell, 3-5 (Spohn, Britton, and Campbell in favor).

Former mayor Jim Whitaker addressed the council after current mayor Marc Kaschke opened the floor to public comment prior to the vote.

Whitaker said it was Rossell’s job to find errors both major and minor.

“It’s unfortunate it fell 30 votes short,” Whitaker said, “but if you send the pages back, you might be going down a road that could lead to problems.”

Whitaker warned that this could set a precedent for all petitions in the future. He also pointed out that the goal of the petition was to ask voters to review, and possibly change, what amounted to an agreement between a lender (the United States Department of Agriculture) and a borrower (the Golden Spike).

“If the agreement is changed, the loan would come due,” Whitaker said. “Do you have the money to pay the note in full?”

Whitaker closed by saying he hoped the council made the right decision for the community.

Attorney George Clough, representing the Western Nebraska Tax Payers Association, told the council that the issue was not the merits of the petition itself, but whether or not what he referred to as “clerical errors” should discount the signatures.

Clough said the right to petition the government is second only to the right to vote itself, and that the aim of the signature review process is to prevent fraud.

“Some errors do not rise to the level of fraud,” Clough said.

JoAnne Hoatson, the director of the Golden Spike, told the council she was confused by the WNTA.

“They say they want to save taxpayer money, but then tell us we have to spend more taxpayer money to do it,” she said, referring to the additional cost of re-reviewing the signatures.

Hoatson expressed her belief that the council had done their job.

Barry Kesler, a Grand Island native, told the council that allowing the signatures could set a statewide precedent.

“This is so critical to our right to vote. You’ve got to do this right,” Kesler said. He continued that the petition gatherers should try again.

Clough addressed the council again and countered that there was plenty of precedent for reviewing discarded signatures. “This isn’t something to be afraid of,” he said.

Judy Pederson of the second ward said, “I’m not sure why the petitioners failure to follow the rules is now our problem.”

“I believe the taxpayers already paid to have the signatures reviewed,” she continued. Pederson also said that despite her position on the board of the Golden Spike, she did not have a conflict of interest because this vote was on the signature gathering procedure.

City Attorney Doug Stack agreed that there was no legal conflict.

The fourth ward’s Larry Lee Britton said that the people whose signatures were on the five pages were constituents and the council had an obligation to listen to voters.

He said this was an opportunity for the council to make good on their retreat goals and provide some tax relief to citizens.

Britton did note that it was unfortunate the process was not done properly.

Pederson countered that the people who chose not to sign the petition are constituents too.

Don Kurre, third ward, said he took the notary process very seriously. He recalled his days as a coach for a youth traveling soccer team.

Kurre said a notarized release form was required from all parents for kids on the team to receive medical treatment should they get injured.

Kurre said it fell to the petition gatherers to respect the notary process, as well as respect the people whose signatures they collected. He said he felt they failed to do so.

Larry Campbell of the fourth ward said that it almost seemed that the council was being asked to do something improper. He clarified with Stack that sending the signatures back to re-examined was a proper, legal step. Stack said it was an option.

Second ward representative Jim Parish said, “When you undertake a petition, it is costly and time consuming to everyone involved. You have an obligation to pay attention to detail.”

“It’s the right of the people to speak,” Parish continued, “but there is a procedure to that. It wasn’t followed.”

The last person to address the council on the topic was Roric Paulman, president of the Golden Spike Board.

“We’re all watching you,” Paulman said of the area surrounding North Platte. “We all have a stake in North Platte being a destination. You’re our livelihood.”

Paulman said he loved his country but understood there is a process to be followed with petitions.

With the failure of the petition, it is unclear what is the next step for the WNTA. Clough said the last thing they want is to take legal action. However, that is the only option available to them if they want the five pages counted, according to Stack.