City Council needs two more members
By Bert Lehman
The city needs to fill two vacant seats on the Clintonville City Council.
The council will have final approval.
That was the decision the council approved at its April 12 meeting.
City Administrator Caz Muske said Peggy Johnson, the city’s clerk/treasurer, contacted the state to find out the steps to fill the two vacancies on the council.
There are vacancies in District 1 and 3. There were no candidates on the April 5 ballot for District 1. The vacancy in District 3 is due to Ald. Steve Kettenhoven being elected mayor in the April 5 election.
In the past, the city has asked for applications from citizens who wanted to serve on the council to fill vacancies. After the council reviewed the applications, the council approved a resident to fill the vacancy.
Muske said the other option would be to hold a special election to fill the vacancies.
“In the event you pursue a special election, take into consideration the expenses that hiring and having election workers, co-workers from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. And then the process you would have to wait after that,” Muske said.
Johnson told the council that she did not know the exact cost to the city if it held a special election.
Keith Steckbauer, city attorney for the city of Clintonville, confirmed that holding a special election is an option, but said it “didn’t make a great deal of sense” since the vacancies are so soon after an election just took place.
In an April 6 letter to the Clintonville City Council, Steckbauer stated “there does not appear to be any statutory procedure or direction for appointments, therefore, municipal governing bodies may determine their own procedure for nominating candidates and selecting a person to fill a vacancy.”
He added in the letter, “Upon vote being taken, the person selected should be sworn in at once. No further resolution is required.”