Allowing Amherst residents the right to decide on the number of Town Board seats is a stale issue with the current board, but residents could change that by signing a petition calling for a referendum.

(See editorial on page four)

Attorney Kevin Gaughan, who has been pushing for downsizing town, village and county boards for the past three years, has launched "Citizens' Spring," a petition effort that includes Amherst, Blasdell, Cheektowaga, Evans and West Seneca.

"I am surprised by the overwhelming support," Gaughan said of the effort, which got under way this past weekend. "Citizens want to decide on the size and shape of local government."

Fifty-four people carried petitions in Amherst, and 450 signatures were collected. Kathleen Weaver of East Amherst was one of those volunteers.

"The response was very positive; people were quick to want to sign the petition," she said. "They think we have too much government — they want less government in every way."

Weaver added that she believes it is the residents' responsibility to speak out and not leave everything in the hands of elected officials.

"I don't think everyone is aware that this is their decision to make," she said. "They need to speak out, and on this topic the way to do that is get it on the ballot and the right to vote on it."

The Amherst Town Board has voted down several resolutions regarding the issue. Some of the resolutions requested a reduction by two members, but others asked that the decision be put to a public vote in the next election.

Residents can take control of that decision by having enough residents sign the petition. According to law, 5 percent of the residents who voted in the last gubernatorial election would have to sign.

Gaughan is employing a law that he discovered that permits citizens to compel referenda by gathering petition signatures.

This was first tried in West Seneca, and a court case followed. Gaughan said a judge ruled that the law is valid.

"No politician and no government can stop this; you just need a sufficient number of signatures," he said.

Gaughan expects to have more than 10,000 signatures, or 20 percent of the total population, before the deadline (150 days before the Nov. 3 election).

He said that each time the board votes down the motion, residents become more determined to push for the vote.

Hundreds of volunteers have joined the effort in the five areas. Each petition asks for a vote to remove two board seats, except in the case of Blasdell, where the vote would be to abolish the village.

Each of Erie County's 25 towns, 16 villages and three cities were visited by Gaughan during the past three years, and he asked politicians to voluntarily reduce their number and save tax dollars.

Gaughan said he plans to add three more towns and two more villages to his target list this summer.

He confirmed on Monday that Williamsville will be a targeted village. Gaughan anticipated that one year from now the focus will be on merging the village with the town.

"People have had enough," he said about local government and policies.

In order to move forward with a merger, Gaughan said one-third of Williamsville residents would have to sign a petition asking for a referendum. The village has approximately 5,300 residents.

"Before America plunged into recession, changing our local government was an economic necessity," Gaughan said. "But with thousands of local citizens now struggling to survive, getting local politicians to sacrifice has become a moral imperative."

In 2006, Gaughan published a study that revealed Erie County as having 439 elected officials, more than 10 times the number of politicians in any like-sized community in the nation. And to sustain these 439 officials, local taxpayers pay more than $32 million per year.

In connection with his petition effort, Gaughan unveiled a Web site, www.LetPeopleDecide.org, where Erie County residents can join his cause.