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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes 12 September 14, 2004 Page 12 1 He stated that it is "not the American spirit"to not allow the public to vote with regard to the 2 revenue bonds issued for the Silver Lake Development. 3 4 Mayor Pro-tem Thuesen thanked Mr. Whlahoff for his attendance and welcomed his input. 5 6 Motion by Councilmember Horst, seconded by Councilmember Faust to adopt Resolution 04- 7 062 Setting the City of St. Anthony Proposed 2005 Tax Levy and Budget in Compliance with 8 . the Truth in Taxation Act. 9 10 Motion carried unanimously. 11 12 F. Review and Discussion of Options on Mayor's Position. 13 City Attorney Gilligan reported that vacancies in elective offices of the City are governed by 14 Minnesota Statutes, Section 412.02, Subdivision 2a. He stated the statute provides that a vacancy 15 in an office "shall be filled by council appointment until an election is held as provided in this 16 subdivision." He noted although the statute does not mandate when the-appointment must be 17 made, any vacancy in an elective office should be filled by the City Council within a reasonable 18 period of time. 19 20 Mr. Gilligan indicated the Council may appoint any individual to fill a vacancy in elective 21 office who is otherwise eligible for election. He noted under state law, this means the person 22 selected must be at least 21 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a resident of the state for at 23 least 20 days, and a resident of the City of.St. Anthony. He stated the Council may appoint a 24 current Council Member or any other eligible resident of the City, adding if the Council is 25 voting to appoint as Mayor a current member of the Council,the interested Council Member 26 should not participate in the vote. 27 28 Mr. Gilligan stated in the present case, the Mayor's death has created a vacancy, adding, 29 therefore, the appointment of a new Mayor must be made by the City Council. He indicated the 30 appointment is to be made by a majority vote of the remaining Council Members at a regular or 31 special meeting of the Council, adding if there is a tie vote, the statute provides that "the Mayor 32 shall make the appointment." He noted that since the Mayor's office is vacant, the acting Mayor 33 shall make the appointment if there is a tie vote. He added that the acting Mayor may select any 34 qualified person and does not need to choose from those individuals considered by the Council, 35 adding the acting Mayor, however, may not appoint himself or herself as the Mayor. 36 Mr. Gilligan noted that since the vacancy occurred before the first day to file affidavits of 37 candidacy for the City's regular 2005 election and more than two years remain in the unexpired 38 term of office, a special election is required to be held at or before the City's regular 2005 election 39 and the person appointed to the Mayor's office shall serve until the qualification for office of the 40 person elected as Mayor at the special election. 41 42 Mr. Gilligan indicated if a current Council Member is appointed as Mayor and accepts such 43 appointment, such Council Member gives up his or her position as a Council Member and there 44 will be a vacancy in that Council position. He stated the Council cannot appoint a Council 45 Member to "temporarily" serve as Mayor until a special election is held to elect a person to 46 complete the unexpired Mayoral term, with such person returning to his or her position as a