Swansea committees pause formal votes after attorney advises quorum insufficient

At the start of the meeting and again during committee business, village leaders said the village attorney advised that the board could not take binding votes because three members were absent even though three members and a nonvoting attendee were present.

The mayor explained the situation: the quorum number for presence exists, but because the mayor is a nonvoting member unless there is a tie, the attorney advised tonight’s meeting could not produce valid votes. “Our attorney has told us that tonight we can't vote on anything,” the mayor said, noting prior uncertainty earlier in the day about whether the committee could proceed.

As a result, items that required votes were deferred. Mr. Lanner said the community and economic development portion had three items that required votes and they would be skipped. Public safety was opened and a resolution noted on the agenda was not taken to a vote for the same reason. Committee chairs said they would allow speakers to address matters and that department heads' reports could be given informally, but that formal votes would be postponed and a follow-up meeting would be scheduled later in the week (Thursday or possibly Friday according to discussion).

A motion to adjourn the personnel portion and a motion to adjourn community and economic development were both moved and seconded and carried by voice vote, closing those segments of the meeting while leaving substantive voting items for a future session once attendance allows.