WEST MILFORD Voters won’t be deciding for themselves whether they want more stringent open public meeting/record laws in town. A five-person committee originally brought the Sunshine Act to the council, which rejected it. But, in accordance with the law, the committee had collected 1,100 signatures on a petition that would allow the act to appear on the November ballot. In a four-to-one vote, the committee decided to withdraw the petition after it was highly contested by very vocal opponents at the last council meeting. “I’m very disappointed,” said Andy Gargano, the only committee member opposed to withdrawing the act. “Even if it lost, it doesn’t seem fair that 10 or 12 people at a council meeting outweigh 1,100 who signed the petition. It’s supposed to be a democracy. “ Jim Giest, a Democratic candidate for council, was also on the committee. “The intent of the Sunshine Act is good,” he said, “but we need to fine tune it first. If Rauth and Giest [the two Democratic candidates for the two available seats on the council] are elected, we will get a fine-tuned Sunshine Act passed.” Councilman Bob Nolan echoed Giest’s sentiments and said he would like to develop a different Sunshine Act with a bipartisan committee with the input of the township attorney and clerk. Nolan said he voted to withdraw the act because the Township Attorney Fred Semrau said the act was “unduly burdensome on the volunteer fire fighters and members of the first aid squad.” Activist Martin O’Shea, who helped author the act, says the volunteers would have been exempt because of their non-profit status. “In my view, the four people who voted to withdraw broke their contract with the people who signed the petition. I think that’s acting dishonorably.” The other two members of the committee were Kathleen Caren and Bettina Biere.