Bremen Town Councilman Michael Leman asked to have further discussions concerning the Town of Bremen’s election cycle.
In this 2023 Municipal Election, all four Bremen Town Council seats are up for election. Leman suggested staggering terms in case four new council members are elected with no knowledge on town government.
He also asked if an additional seat could be included so there would be five members on the council instead of four. Director of Operations Trend Weldy said there used to be a five-member council.
Town Attorney Anthony Wagner said it could be researched.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with putting a fifth person in there, especially because you’re not creating districts. You don’t have those kind of seats. It would be just a matter of changing, essentially, the ordinances – well, you’d be switching to whatever the current set of state statutes allows. I’m willing to bet they probably presume you’d have five,” said Wagner.
Currently, if there is a tie vote, the clerk-treasurer breaks the tie. Clerk-Treasurer Janet Anglemyer said it has only happened twice.
Leman further commented there could be council members who may not seek re-election in this election cycle.
No decisions were made during the meeting as more information will be presented on the matter in future meetings.
Additionally, Councilman Rick Graverson also had questions on how the council members could get together to discuss items before council meetings. Wagner said he would get the Public Access Counselor’s Handbook to him and the council to review to determine what does and what does not violate the Open Door Law, along with a list of Executive Session topics.
