Garbage is an emotional topic for some Bloomington residents. The city wants to turn over trash collection to a single consortium of haulers to cut down on the number of trucks running through city neighborhoods.
But a sizable contingent of citizens is passionately opposed to the change, known as "organized collection." At a recent public hearing on the issue, some residents actually wept as they pleaded with the city to let them choose their own garbage hauler.
Now a group is collecting signatures on a petition to take the issue away from the City Council and put it to a direct vote of the people.
Minnesota law doesn't allow statewide initiatives or referendums. But Bloomington's city charter gives residents the right to propose a law (an initiative) or repeal one that's already on the books (a referendum).
To get their proposal on the ballot, however, they have to go through City Attorney Sandra Johnson. And her legal opinion is quite firmly against a direct popular vote on garbage.
"Our charter requires that any petition for initiative or referendum be submitted to the city attorney's office for review," Johnson said in an interview this week. "[I]f it can't be put on the ballot, it's my job to tell them."
And Johnson has told the garbage petitioners that their proposal is headed for the legal dumpster.
In a 10-page opinion, Johnson laid out her reasons for rejecting the petition. Among other things, her opinion says that the state's Waste Management Act lays out a detailed procedure for cities that want to institute organized collection. "The initiative and referendum process cannot alter the state-charted path to organized solid waste collection," she wrote.
The petitioners, naturally, disagree. In a letter to Johnson, attorney for the petitioners Michael Drysdale wrote that there's no indication the Legislature "intended to foreclose the right of initiative and referendum as related to the choice to impose organized collection."
This one may wind up in court.
john.reinan@startribune.com
