WEST MILFORD In a move never attempted before in New Jersey, a resident who is not a member of the municipal government has presented a new law to the town council for their consideration. Traditionally, it’s the council members themselves who present and decide whether resolutions make it to the statute book. This time, however, town resident Andrew Gargano is utilizing a little known act which encourages registered voters to not only participate in local government but to play an integral role. West Milford’s municipal government is regulated under The Faulkner Act and is therefore open to what the act calls, initiative and referendum.’ This initiative and referendum process gives power to voters to place ordinances before the council. If the council rejects the ordinance, it is then put before the voters in a referendum and, if it is approved by a majority vote, it is placed into law for a period of no less than three years, providing no future referendum overrules it. To get an ordinance before the council involves significant work. The petitioner must obtain the signatures of at least 10 percent of the total turnout of registered voters at the prior local town election. In Gargano’s case, he was required to find a minimum of 809 people who agreed to his ordinance. He exceeded this by obtaining over 900 signatures. The petition was handed to Township Clerk Antoinette Battaglia who now has the duty of verifying the ordinance meets municipal regulations. Local open government activist Martin O’Shea is keen on the initiative and referendum process. “No other town in the state has attempted to pass such an ordinance,” said O’Shea. “Activists in other towns, however, have been considering the exact same ordinance and are watching West Milford to see how the process plays out in the township.” Gargano is president of West Milford’s Democratic Club and a former town councilman, and is hoping to persuade the council to accept a resolution to reform laws which will broaden current open government procedures. Cited as the West Milford Sunshine Act,’ Gargano hopes, among other things, for all public documents to be available online, to reduce the costs of obtaining photocopies and other records from town hall, for more open meetings to the public, and to increase opportunities for public participation at all government meetings. In a released statement, Gargano said, “This is an idea whose time has come for West Milford. What we’re doing will benefit every resident of the township, regardless of what party they belong to. This is a good government issue that will help all of our neighbors to better understand how their taxes are being put to work.” Gargano also stressed that his petition drive was a non-partisan effort. O’Shea, said others might bring forth their ideas for laws. ”I have been meeting with activists in several towns and the sense I get is that transparency in government is a major concern, at both the municipal and national levels.” Township Clerk Battaglia said on Wednesday, “We are in the process of reviewing the petition. My expectation, if everything is deemed to be in order, is that the ordinance will be presented to the council and introduced with first reading on July 26. Thereafter, the public hearing and second reading will be scheduled for August 23.”