GRIFFITH — Residents are putting pen to paper as Griffith's signature drive is underway in a second effort to secede from Calumet Township.
"We are continuing to gather signatures," said Council President Rick Ryfa, R-3rd.
The town needs around 1,300 residential signatures to ask the county to schedule a referendum that would allow Griffith residents to vote whether to stay with Calumet Township or join another one.
Ryfa noted that residents will have a big chance to add their signatures immediately after the Veterans Day service on Nov. 11 at the Central Park pavillion.
Annual Veterans Day observations across the nation always take place at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year.
Ryfa said the signature drive will begin afterward and run until 1:30 p.m.
"We anticipate having a referendum vote the first half of 2018," Ryfa said. "We will speak with the Lake County Board of Elections to determine a date that would work for them as well."
Ryfa noted that, when Griffith started its secession efforts 10 years ago, the town was forced to give about $3.2 million annually to the township while only receiving about $15,000 in services.
Ryfa said the current amount sent to the township is down to about $1 million a year.
"While this is a very substantial reduction, we will have one of the highest township tax rates in the state," he said.
Ryfa also said the council is well aware of the expected budget shortfalls that most Lake County communities will face in 2020 when the full effects of the tax cap are felt.
"We have been preparing for this for many years and are currently looking at close to a $1 million reduction in revenue for the town corporation," Ryfa said. "Our schools will also see a similar shortfall."
While the town only needs around 1,300 signatures to trigger the referendum, Ryfa said officials are hoping for as many as 2,000 to ensure that enough valid signatures will be counted in the event of any fraudulent activity.
The signature drive was activated because the latest numbers from the Department of Local Government Finance suggest that the township is more than 12 times the average assistance budget of the state's 1,004 townships.
A state law says that any community within a township that far over the average has the right to vote on seceding from that township and joining another one.
A similar situation happened last year and a referendum was scheduled.
However, it was cancelled after Calumet Township filed a lawsuit in Lake Superior Court disputing Griffith's claim that the township was over the limit.
Earlier this month, township Trustee Kimberly Robinson said it was too soon to determine if another lawsuit will be filed if another referendum is scheduled.