Roosevelt Borough Council members will be looking to fill a vacancy on the governing body sometime within the next 60 days, given a limited window of opportunity before the November general election.
Councilman Michael Stiles and his family moved from Roosevelt earlier this month, which meant Stiles effectively resigned from his seat on the council, creating a vacancy to fill the unexpired term.
Stiles, who completed his first three-year term as a councilman last year, was re-elected to a second three-year term in November.
Contacted at home in New Egypt, Ocean County, on Mon-day, Stiles declined to comment on his resignation, saying he "preferred to avoid the limelight of an elected public official."
Last week, Mayor Michael B. Hamilton said the governing body had not received anything in writing from Stiles regarding his status as a council member, although Hamilton said he had heard from unofficial sources that Stiles no longer resides in Roosevelt.
Council President John Towle told the Examiner that he received a phone call from Stiles on July 9 informing him he would not be in attendance for the Borough Council meeting on July 10.
"Mike (Stiles) told me he was expecting to close on his new home the next day and he wouldn’t be at our meeting that evening," Towle said. "I consider that notification he has resigned his seat on the council."
Hamilton said he asked the borough clerk to send a registered letter to Stiles requesting him to notify the council in writing regarding his status as a council member.
According to Towle, borough officials do not need to be notified by Stiles in writing that he has resigned from the governing body since Stiles communicated his intention in conversation with him.
"Based on my interpretation of the Municipal Governing Body Vacancy state statute, the law stipulates that when a governing body member resigns, there must be a written letter of resignation submitted, "Hamilton said. "If that is not the case, then the governing body must take official action to declare a vacancy and to fill it, under the terms of the statute."
Hamilton said it is his intention to have the vacancy filled in a timely fashion since it is in the best interest of the borough government and the public good of the residents to have a full complement serving on the council.
"There are times when a two-thirds vote of council members is needed to take certain actions," Hamilton said. "With a seat vacated and the inability to rely on all council members’ schedules during the summer months, it becomes important to have a full roster of public officials available for meetings and to take action."
Towle said the council expects to receive the names of three Democratic candidates to be considered to fill the unexpired term from the Democratic Executive County Committee at its next regular meeting on Aug. 14.
Under state statute, when a vacancy exists on a governing body, the political party of the member who has vacated a seat has the right to offer three candidates for consideration to fill the vacancy, through its executive county committee. The governing body may then select one candidate to fill the unexpired term, serving until such time that the seat would be up for election.
If the council fails to make an appointment in a certain period of time, a state Superior Court judge may make the appointment in the absence of official action taken by the governing body .
According to Hamilton, the subject of the council seat vacancy was discussed at Monday’s committees meeting of the council, where it was announced the council would receive the three names for consideration by Aug. 14.
"Under that timetable, the council might discuss the candidates in closed session at the Aug. 17 committees meeting or call a special meeting after that for the purpose of holding interviews," Hamilton said. "Official action to appoint a council member could be deferred to the council’s regular meeting in September, which in my opinion, is too long a time to wait."
Hamilton said he would prefer for the council to discuss and interview the candidates in an open forum, as soon as possible, with a possible appointment at the Aug. 14 meeting.
According to Borough Clerk Krystyna Bieracka-Olejnik, the council is expected to declare a vacancy exists at the Aug. 14 regular council meeting and accept the names of three candidates from the Democratic Executive County Committee after that.
"Once the vacancy is declared, the county committee has 15 days to submit the candidates’ names and then the council has 15 days to interview and make an appointment," Bieracka-Olejnik said. "It’s my understanding the candidate will serve for the remainder of the year and the seat will be on the November general election ballot for the remaining two years of the unexpired term."
Roosevelt’s Democratic Executive County Committee chairwoman, Ann Baker, could not be reached for comment at press time.