JUPITER, Fla. — The Town of Jupiter has filed a lawsuit against the Political Action Committee called “Jupiter Residents to KEEP Palm Beach County Firefighters,” regarding the town's plans to move forward with a fire department.
The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 13 and comes after a spokesperson for the Supervisor of Elections for Palm Beach County said municipalities, like Jupiter, would have to submit language by Dec. 15 to get the issue on the March 2024 ballot.
The town claims the PAC is illegally using the referendum process to amend the town's charter and stop the town's elected officials from starting or operating its own fire rescue department, until there's a town-wide vote.
READ LAWSUIT BELOW:
On Dec. 5, the Town of Jupiter reported that the PAC filed a lawsuit against the town, asking a judge to force the town to put the proposed amendment question on the ballot.
On Wednesday, the town filed its own lawsuit against the PAC, listing the following reasons as to why the ballot question and the proposed charter amendment are invalid:
- The Ballot Question Fails to Provide Fair Notice to the Town's Voters
- The Proposed Charter Amendment Purports to Unlawfully Expand the Referendum Power in Violation of the Florida Constitution
- The Proposed Charter Amendment Improperly Seeks to Limit the Town’s Home Rule Authority
- The Proposed Charter Amendment Impermissibly Contradicts the Town Charter
Jupiter
Petition gets enough signatures to put Jupiter Fire Department on ballot
In the meantime, the town is moving forward with its plans to start the department, regardless of when a vote occurs and the result, saying it will save the town $68 million over eight years.