Bounds resigns from city council

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Grant City Councilman Robert Bounds submitted his resignation as a council member on Thursday, July 12, effective immediately. 

Bounds said he had been thinking about resigning for a while due to personal reasons. 

“After Tuesday night’s meeting, it kind of convinced me that I was not the right person for the job,” he said. “I was disappointed in the lack of respect for the city council and the mayor.”

Bounds stated he felt the meeting got out of hand. “In the mayor’s current state, he’s pretty sick, and that never would’ve happened a year ago.”

As far as the current city administration, Bounds said he better not comment, stating he could go left or right. 

Click here for Tuesday's city council story. 

Appointment

Bounds was elected to the council in 2016 to a four-year term. 

According to state statute, his vacancy shall be filled by the mayor and council for the balance of his term. A notice of the vacancy shall be in writing and presented to the council at a regular or special meeting. 

The council shall at once give public notice of the vacancy by publishing it in the newspaper and/or by posting it in three public places in the city.

The mayor shall then call a special meeting of the council or place the issue of filling the vacancy on the agenda at the next regular meeting at which time the mayor shall submit the name of a qualified registered voter to fill the vacancy. 

The regular or special meeting shall occur within four weeks after the meeting at which such notice of vacancy has been presented. The council shall vote upon such nominee, and if a majority votes in favor of such nominee, the vacancy shall be declared filled. 

If the nominee fails to receive a majority of the votes, the nomination shall be rejected and the mayor shall at the next regular or special meeting submit the name of another qualified registered voter to fill the vacancy. 

If the subsequent nominee fails to receive a majority of the votes, the mayor shall continue at such meeting to submit the names of qualified registered voters in nomination and the council shall continue to vote upon such nominations at such meeting until the vacancy is filled. 

The mayor shall cast his or her vote for or against the nominee in the case of a tie vote of the council. All council members present shall cast a ballot for or against the nominee. 

Any member of the city council who has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the council shall have the same rights, including voting, as if such person were elected.

Election option

According to state statute, the mayor and council may, in lieu of filling a vacancy by nomination, call a special city election to fill such vacancy.

 

The Grant Tribune-Sentinel

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Grant NE 69140