Judge says citizen petition void

Thursday, January 13th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

KREBS, Okla. (AP) -- A citizen petition could not order the Krebs City Council to place a funding measure for the Krebs Historical Museum on a March election ballot, a judge ruled. The petition was void because it did not propose a funding source, District Judge Steven Taylor said Wednesday.

About 250 Krebs residents signed the petition to let the voters decide whether the city of Krebs should provide at least $20,000 a year in administrative and operating expenses to the Krebs Historical Museum Authority. The City Council already had allocated $10,000 to fund the museum this year. But Gene DeFrange said that was not enough.

DeFrange and other petition supporters brought the case to district court in an effort to force the City Council to place the issue on a March 14 ballot. Taylor ruled that the City Council does not have authority to allocate funds for future fiscal years unless there is a funding source, such as a sales tax or bond issue specifically ear markedfor that purpose on the ballot. "We wish we had more money," Mayor Bennie Snell said. "We're for the museum. If they come up with some way to get the funds, such as a quarter-cent sales tax to get the money, we wouldn't mind that."