Court overturns firefighters’ restraining order, referendum petition

Half Moon Bay firefighters’ temporary restraining order on contracting out services has been lifted and their referendum petition ruled invalid [pdf of decision]. The referendum would have overturned the Half Moon Bay Fire Protection District’s decision to contract out services.

County superior court judge Marie Weiner limited her judgment to whether the referendum petitions were written correctly.  The district did not dispute whether their decision constituted an ordinance subject to referendum.

The judge decided that the petition was incomplete because it included the "be it resolved" part of the resolution, but not the "whereas" clauses. The referendum refers to consolidation, which is only addressed in the "whereas" clauses of the resolution. A clause in the petition which claimed there were hidden costs to the contract although it did not quote the "whereas" clause which said it was the most cost-effective solution.

The question of whether the decision to contract out services was a legislative act subject to referendum would have been more complex, and the judge quoted case law suggesting that a case could be made either for the district or the firefighters. But because the district did not contest the issue, it remains unresolved.