Nicky Boyette – Mayor Butch Berry told city council June 27 that the procedure for filling a vacancy at the council table, such as the one created by the passing of alderman Joyce Zeller, would be for council to first declare a vacancy, which alderman David Mitchell then moved to declare.
City attorney Tim Weaver said aldermen could fill the vacancy at the next meeting. However, there would need to be a quorum comprised only of aldermen – the mayor could not be included in that count – and aldermen Terry McClung and Mickey Schneider had already announced they would not be at the July 11 meeting.
McClung and alderman James DeVito urged council to declare the vacancy that evening and choose the new alderman at the July 25 meeting. Schneider commented they did not need to rush into choosing a new alderman. She preferred waiting to declare a vacancy. Alderman Bob Thomas agreed with McClung and DeVito, and vote to declare a vacancy was 4-1, Schneider voting No.
Weaver suggested council set a date for filling a vacancy so it could be published and provide notice to those interested in applying to fill the seat. Aldermen voted 4-1, Schneider voting No, to establish July 25 as the date for filling the vacancy.
Thomas asked for clarity regarding the procedure for voting, and after discussion, aldermen agreed unanimously that those interested would need to have applications in the mayor’s office by the end of business Monday, July 18, the mayor’s office would prepare ballots for council’s vote. Those ballots will be preserved as part of the public record.