A petition seeking the recall of the ordinance for tax notes meant for Civic Center improvements was delivered to Amarillo City Hall earlier today. The petition, which was announced earlier this month, has over 12,000 signatures.

The petition came as citizens became worried that Amarillo City Council was pushing through a plan for Civic Center improvements despite a similar proposal being defeated in November 2020 by wide margins. It is also occurring along side a lawsuit by businessman Alex Fairly, which is also seeking to overturn the tax notes. Fairly’s lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in October.

According to the city charter, the City Secretary has 3 weeks to verify signatures. Once enough signatures are validated to meet the legal requirement (5 percent of registered voters in the city), Amarillo City Council will have 30 days to decide whether or not to repeal the ordinance. If the council fails to repeal the ordinance, the petition’s organizers may then request the item be placed on the ballot.

If the item is put on the ballot, it will likely be on the May 2023 municipal elections ballot, as the deadline for placing items on the ballot for the upcoming November election was August 22nd.