Romulus council adopts procedure to fill vacant seat; letters due Jan. 21

The Romulus City Council on Jan. 13 adopted a resolution establishing a procedure and timetable to fill the council seat left vacant by the death of Councilwoman Virginia Williams. The clerk must publish the request for letters of interest, which are due by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, and council will consider appointments at its Jan. 27 meeting.

Under the resolution adopted by unanimous roll-call vote, eligible applicants must have resided in the city for at least one year and be registered voters in Romulus. Applicants must provide a waiver allowing the clerk and city attorney to run an ICHAT background review; according to the resolution, only ICHAT results that legally would disqualify a candidate will be shared with council.

Councilwoman Roscoe, who introduced the resolution, said the process is intended to provide a clear, time-limited method for filling the vacancy. "Therefore, the following procedure is hereby adopted by city council," she read as she outlined deadlines and ballot procedures. The resolution directs the clerk to post application instructions on the city's website and to distribute all letters of interest to council after the Jan. 21 deadline.

At the Jan. 27 meeting, council members will receive a ballot listing eligible candidates. Each member will designate a first choice; the clerk will collect and announce results. The candidate who receives at least four votes will be appointed. If no candidate receives four votes, the procedure eliminates any candidate not selected by at least two council members, and council will re-ballot among the remaining candidates until one receives four votes, the resolution says.

The action follows the death of Councilwoman Virginia Williams; the resolution notes the city charter requires the vacancy be filled within 45 days but does not specify a particular appointment procedure. The motion to adopt the procedure was made by Councilwoman Roscoe and supported by Councilman Wadsworth; the roll-call vote recorded Abdo, Kraut, Roscoe, Talley and Wadsworth as voting "yes."

Votes at a glance — Council action on Jan. 13 included: unanimous approval of the meeting agenda; approval of minutes from the Dec. 23, 2024 regular meeting and special meetings; adoption of memorial resolutions for Richard Pastula and Dave Rakis; adoption of the vacancy-procedure resolution described above; approval of a commemorative resolution recognizing JESCO's 55 years in Romulus; concurrence with the mayor to reappoint Kathy Freitag and Emery Long to the planning commission for three-year terms (expires Jan. 31, 2028); authorization for the mayor and clerk to enter an amended Michigan Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) agreement and designation of the fire chief as the city's MABAS representative; introduction of budget amendment 24-25-11 to recognize expenses for street lighting along Wick Road; introduction of budget amendment 24-25-12 to cover costs for a cable studio camera package and an equipment maintenance contract for council-chamber audiovisual equipment; scheduling a public hearing for an alley vacation on Feb. 10, 2025; and approval of warrant 25-01 totaling $2,559,969.82. (All items listed above were approved as recorded in the Jan. 13 meeting minutes.)

Practical next steps from the resolution: the clerk will publish application instructions on the city's website and accept emailed or online letters of interest through 4 p.m. on Jan. 21; council will vote on Jan. 27. The resolution states applicants who already filed letters need not refile but may do so if they wish.