By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph City Council is seeking eligible residents from its District II to fill a vacant seat on the city council following Taylor Crouse's resignation.
Mayor John Josendale says interested residents should come to city hall and submit a letter of interest to finish out the two-year term.
Josendale says starting on March 29th, the council will begin an interview process with interested parties.
"We'll then have each councilmember rank the people in their order then that will be tallied by the clerk," Josendale explains to KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "From that we'll take the top two and then that would be a vote of the council on a written ballot."
Josendale says there are a few requirements interested residents should keep in mind.
"They have to have lived in the city for a year, have to have lived in the district for at least the last six months, they have to have all their taxes, and everything paid, so those are some of the requirements," Josendale says.
Residents from District II interested in filling the vacant seat should file a letter of intent to run at City Hall.
Submissions will be reviewed by the council during an April 1st work session and mandatory interviews will take place on April 4th. The city will then vote on the candidate to fill the vacancy during a meeting on April 9th. All meetings will be held in open session, allowing public attendance.
The council hopes to swear in the candidate prior to the April 15th City Council meeting.
Josendale says having to fill a vacant seat has only happened a couple of times, the most recent coming just a few years ago.
"When actually at that time the deputy mayor died and had to be replaced on council," Josendale points out. "But it's much more prevalent if a councilmember that lives in a specific district moves out of that district, which is what's happening in this case."