Council opens recruitment for city treasurer and to fill vacant council seat; deadlines set for Jan. 22

The Livingston City Council voted Tuesday to open recruitment for the vacant city treasurer post and to fill the council seat vacated by elected official Rodrigo Espinosa, setting an application deadline of Jan. 22, 2025 for both recruitments.

City staff said the council has roughly 60 days from the vacancy notice to either appoint someone or call a special election. Staff estimated a special election would cost about $77,000; councilors said the city does not have budgeted funds for that expense and moved to use the appointment process instead.

For the city treasurer vacancy, a council member moved to send out the citizen-application packet and set the application deadline for Jan. 22; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with all members present voting yes. The council agreed to accept applications and to verify eligibility with the county registrar; motions included language allowing conditional appointment pending verification.

On the council vacancy created by Rodrigo Espinosa's resignation to assume a different elected position, the council likewise directed staff to open applications with the same Jan. 22 deadline and to proceed with appointment rather than calling a special election. Council members noted that an appointment would last until the next general election, at which point the seat would appear on the ballot for voters.

Ending: Applications for both positions will be accepted through Jan. 22; staff will verify applicant eligibility with the county registrar and prepare an agenda item for a future meeting to consider appointment(s).