Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance Charter Ordinance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves three-year terms, strikes automatic succession clause from charter ordinance
Summary
After debate, Monroe’s council voted to remove the provision that would automatically seat the next-highest vote-getter when an alder is elected mayor, and approved changing alder and mayor terms to three years; the council decided to publish the two approved sections and omit the struck clause.
City Attorney Bartoff described a three-part charter ordinance proposing changes to alderperson and mayoral terms, vacancy filling when an alder becomes mayor, and rules for spring primaries. Bartoff explained that because the proposal would alter statutory defaults it is treated as a charter ordinance and would take 60 days to take effect after publication.
Councilmembers debated the vacancy clause at length. Several alderpersons opposed automatically seating the next-highest vote-getter when an alder is elected mayor, arguing the council should retain its appointment authority. One alder said, “I really question going to that next loser … you don't know what that agenda is,” and urged preserving the council’s ability to choose a successor. The council moved to strike the automatic-succession provision and, after a roll-call, voted to retain the existing vacancy process (the council will appoint a replacement rather than automatically seating the next-highest vote-getter).
Council then debated and approved changing terms of office for alderpersons and the mayor to three years, with supporters citing continuity and more time for newly elected members to learn the role. The third section (automatic spring primaries when candidate counts exceed a threshold) drew discussion and did not pass in the same form; the council recorded that one of the three proposed sections failed while the other two were approved and will be published accordingly.
