There will be a vacancy on the Signal Mountain Town Council beginning in July. Due to a move out of state, Vice Mayor Amy Speek’s last council meeting will be on July 13.
City Manager Boyd Veal said that, according to the charter, if a council member is not a resident of the town for a period of 60 days, they must forfeit their position on the council. The council then has 30 days to appoint a replacement to fill the vacancy.
If they fail to do so, there can be a special election to fill the seat. A special election, however, must take place no sooner than 75 days and within 30 days of a regular election. In this case, if a replacement is not appointed within 30 days, there would be no time for a special election.
Vice Mayor Speek has requested that a replacement not be named because it could give that person an advantage if they run to fill the position permanently. Mayor Landrum said it could work either way. A consideration he said, is that with four council members, a vote could end in a tie with two for and two against, which is fails. He said it might just make it harder to get things done.
If citizens of Signal Mountain are interested in running for the council, there will be three open seats for the fall election, including the one being vacated by Ms. Speek. One of those will be opened before the election. Whether the council fills it by appointment is the question, said Mr. Veal.