Signatures sought to bring Lorain plate fee hike to vote

LORAIN — City Council’s recently passed license plate fee increases are facing their first obstacle with petitions circulating seeking a voter referendum to repeal them.

Chris Olejko, a member of the referendum committee, said he and other residents told their councilmembers that if the two ordinances passed, petitions would begin circulating for the referendum.

KATIE NIX/CHRONICLE
Denver Castro wore a motorcycle license plate around his neck at the Lorain City Council Building and Lands Committee meeting Monday in protest of the recently passed license plate fee increase.

“And that’s exactly what we did,” he said. “They decided to play games and go against the city’s workers and people who are struggling. I don’t know what they thought was going to happen, but we were ready.”

The two ordinances, which Council passed by a 7-4 margin last week, would increase the city’s license plate fee from $10 to $20 beginning Jan. 1.

“With the closing of the steel mill, our citizens can’t afford to be nickel-and-dimed like this anymore,” said Olejko, a former City Council candidate and son of the late Alex Olejko, a longtime Lorain mayor. “We are expected to live within a budget, and so I don’t understand why Council and the city aren’t expected to do the same.”

Mayor Chase Ritenauer said while he respects residents’ rights to a referendum, he thinks it could jeopardize future projects.

“To me, keeping the fee makes sense because then we can get federal money when it comes to matching funds for road work,” he said. “I don’t want to have to turn down federal money because of something like this. Look at Baumhart Road or Cooper Foster (Road). We need the match money.”

Joyce Early, another member of the committee, said because there are two separate ordinances raising the license plate fee, there will be two petitions and two issues on the ballot.

“It’s double the printing for us,” she said. “It could get confusing for people asking them to sign two petitions, and it also adds to the cost for the city. It’s two ballot issues, and that costs extra money.”

Early said in order to get the issues on the November ballot, the committee needs to get 1,132 signatures, or 10 percent of all votes cast in the last gubernatorial election in Lorain, by April 6.

“We’ve already got people offering to pick up copies to pass around themselves, and we just got them (Monday),” she said. “We’re planning on going through the community to get the signatures.”

Olejko said he’s confident the referendums will get on the ballot, and they will pass in November.

“The last time they tried to raise the license plate fee back in 2008, we got an issue on the ballot to strike it down, and it worked,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem again.”

Olejko said the ability to put issues like these on the ballot is part of using the Constitution.

“If you’re against (the ordinances) or not, you should sign the petition,” Olejko said. “The issue should still be on the ballot. We should still be allowed to utilize our constitutional right to vote for it.”

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