John Julius
HYANNIS – Hyannis resident John Julius is appealing a judge’s decision to toss out his lawsuit against the Hyannis Fire District.
Julius has argued the district should not be exempt from Proposition 2 1/2 in their quest for a new fire station.
Proposition 2 1/2, which applies to all municipalities in Massachusetts, restricts tax increases to two-and-a-half percent unless there is a vote of the citizens to raise taxes further.
The district has made three attempts at securing funding for a new station, but has failed to garner the necessary two-thirds majority from voters.
“Our position is: how can we have a law that applies to every single city and town in the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts except for the entire town of Barnstable?” Julius said.
Julius expressed confidence that the court will side with him on the appeal. If not, he plans to keep challenging the district in the courts. “How far will I go personally? I will go as high as I can go on that ladder to basically get a ruling to allow all of us in Barnstable to be treated exactly like everyone else in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Julius.
