By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
It will be another 30 days before a new council member is appointed to the Mona City Council. The 20-minute Mona City Council meeting may have been one of the shortest in recent memory, but the council did determine what they needed to do about a new council appointment. One of the advertised activities of the meeting was to interview and select a new council member to replace Jonathan Jones, who resigned the first meeting in December. “We did not receive any applications for the council seat during the allotted time frame,” said Bill Mills, mayor. Jones would have been up for reelection in November 2019 and, therefore, had one year left on the council. “I have consulted with our attorney, Kasey Wright, and we will now go back out for another 30 days,” said Mills. “I checked with Kasey to make sure we were doing it right.” The leaving of office is covered in Utah code as: “20A-1-510 Midterm vacancies in municipal offices.” The code reads: “If any vacancy occurs in the office of a municipal executive or member of a municipal legislative body, the municipal legislative body shall appoint a registered voter in the municipality who meets the qualifications for office described in Section 10-3-301 to fill the unexpired term of the vacated office.” Before acting to fill the vacancy, the municipal legislative body has to give public notice of the vacancy at least two weeks before the municipal legislative body meets to fill the vacancy; identify, in the notice: the date, time, and place of the meeting where the vacancy will be filled; the person to whom an individual interested in being appointed to fill the vacancy may submit the interested individual’s name for consideration; and the deadline for submitting an interested individual’s name; and in an open meeting, interview each individual whose name is submitted for consideration, and who meets the qualifications for office, regarding the individual’s qualifications. The two individuals having the highest number of votes of the municipal legislative body after a first vote is taken appear before the municipal legislative body and the municipal legislative body votes again. “Hopefully, someone will submit an application in time to be within the 30-day time frame,” Mills said. The last go-round, in September, when Randy Christensen was selected to fill the council position of Jeff Hearty who resigned when he moved from the city, drew three applicants. Lyla Spencer, as city recorder, will now advertise for applications to be submitted for the council seat in the local newspaper and in the other legal posting sites as required by law. The mayor and council will accept applications to fill the remaining four-year term of the city council at-large vacancy left open because council member Jones gave his resignation to Mayor Mills and members of the council on December 11, 2018. “The term of office will continue until 12 noon on the first Monday in January 2020. The elected candidate will then be sworn-in,” said Spencer. “The appointee will need to run for the council seat in November 2019.” Those interested in being appointed to fill the vacancy must meet the “Requirements for Office” and must submit a completed application signed in the presence of Spencer within the 30-day period. The applicant must be a United States citizen registered to vote in Mona City, must have resided within the boundaries of Mona City for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the date of application, and must not be a convicted felon or had the right to hold public office restricted.
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