SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Signatures collected by a citizen’s group could force a referendum on a city ordinance that would voice public support for troops deployed to Iraq and elsewhere.

City Clerk Susan Mooney said the group collected 787 signatures to support the ordinance, which would require the City Council to support local troops and honor them each spring.

The ordinance likely will come in front of the council sometime next month.

The push for signatures began one year ago when the council debated similar support-the-troops resolutions. But some councilors felt local government should not involve itself with national issues.

Ralph Kilgore and Daniel Fortin, organizers of the citizen’s group, said troops need to know they are being thought of at home and that their local communities are ready to welcome them back.

“It just has to do with the troops. Period,” Kilgore said.

Some councilors were concerned the petition would reopen a debate that monopolized much of the council’s time last year.

The city should be more focused on local issues, such as the annual budget or upcoming tax reform proposals, said Councilor David Jacobs, adding that he believes politics, not support for the troops, is driving this issue.

“I not sure what would be accomplished by this,” he said.

AP-ES-04-13-04 1229EDT