LEWISTON – City leaders zeroed in on possible service cuts and layoffs Thursday, should a petition aimed at the city’s new storm-water fee succeed.

The city could be forced to close at least one fire station, end winter recreation programs and lay off as many as 50 city employees, according to City Administrator Jim Bennett.

“I don’t think people realize how much of a crisis this creates for this organization,” he said.

Ten Lewiston residents filed a petition with the City Clerk on Wednesday calling for a November 2007 vote on the city’s storm-water utility. If they can get 1,000 voters to sign the petition by Jan. 12, they’ll force the city to suspend the new fees until the vote.

That will leave a $1.6 million hole in the budget, Bennett said. He plans to meet with the Lewiston School Committee on Monday night and with city councilors Tuesday night to discuss options.

He met with city department heads Thursday looking for places to trim. One problem is that much of the utility fee money is already being spent, so the city can’t wait to find out whether the petition succeeds.

“If we wait to talk about this until they have 500 signatures, it might be too late,” Bennett said.

Councilors adopted the utility fee plan as part of their budget in June and settled on the details in September.

The utility charges a fee based on the amount of hard surface on each property, including roofs, sidewalks, parking lots and driveways. Single-family homes pay $30 per year, duplexes pay $45 per year. All others, including businesses, churches and nonprofits, pay 4.4 cents per square foot.

Councilors cut $1.6 million in property taxes in June and approved the storm-water utility fee to replace that money.

No canvassing

Storm-fee foes also challenged a city requirement that the petition stay at City Hall.

City ordinances require citizens to come in to City Hall to sign petitions for a referendum. City Clerk Kathy Montejo said she’s sticking to those ordinances, despite challenges from David Hughes and his group pushing for a vote on the storm water utility.

Hughes delivered a letter to Montejo from Waterville lawyer Dan Billings on Thursday calling for the city to release the petition and let the group canvas for signatures.

“They are clearly violating their own charter,” said Hughes, of 34 Howe St.

According to the City Charter, the city needs to provide at least one way for citizens to initiate legislation. One way must include publicly circulating a petition.

But a city ordinance adopted in 1982 requires that at least 1,000 registered city voters must come in and sign the petition for it to be valid.

Montejo said as many as 15 people had come to her office Thursday to sign the petition but it wasn’t ready. All 10 people who submitted the original petition must sign the official petition in her office. As of close of business Thursday, Montejo said she was waiting for one person from that group – Robert Harlow of 66 Shawmut St. – to sign the petition.

“It’s ready as soon as he signs it,” she said.