A technical error related to the advertising and the specific wording of the Nov. 8 bond referendum for Union City’s new fire station and streets projects led to the invalidation of the vote. The popular measures will go before voters again in the coming months.

Mayor Ralph Moore made the announcement at the city council’s meeting Tuesday. Explaining that the error was discovered after the Nov. 8 ballots were cast, Moore apologized to the citizens for the inconvenience. He assured residents that the city will address the matter promptly and efficiently and will provide more than adequate information on the upcoming vote on the two measures.

Moore added that the oversight was one that need not be accompanied by finger pointing.

“We are family here,” Moore said, “We don’t beat each other up. As a family we pull together.”

Commenting Wednesday, City Administrator Terrell Jacobs took ownership of the error, saying the referendum vote was invalidated due to two factors. Though advertised in the city’s legal organ, referendum issues were not advertised in the county’s legal organ, The Fulton Daily Report. The second factor, he said, came into play when the exact language relating to the bond issues was not worded in the required manner prescribed to call for the election.

“We want to be up front and honest about this. This was an honest mistake,” said Jacobs. “We want to move forward and promptly adhere to the requirements to meet the expectations and needs of the community and to be able to adequately provide information required for another referendum.”

If approved by the council in December, the measures could go before voters in March or July, the earliest of the four prescribed voting dates allowed in Georgia. If put on the ballot and passed on either date, the delay caused by the error would be minimal considering the 16-24 month time frame required to begin the project implementation process once a measure has been approved by voters.

Both measures passed with wide margins Nov. 8. The measure to build a third fire station and purchase two engines was approved by 81 percent of voters while the roads upgrade project captured 76.3 percent of the vote.

The vote to allow a Freeport tax exemption was not invalidated. The measure passed with 63.5 percent of the vote.

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