A special Brighton council meeting has been called for the morning of Christmas Eve.
The Municipality of Brighton has confirmed the meeting with a 9 a.m. start on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, is for council to review a staff report related to the application process for filling a vacant seat around the council table.
Staff said the agenda will be made available publicly on the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 20.
As previously reported, council is tasked with filling the seat after the recent passing of former Coun. Byron Faretis. He passed away on Nov. 19, 2024, after what was described as a short but courageous battle with cancer.
Earlier this week, after a lengthy discussion, a majority of council opted at its regular meeting to fill the vacancy by appointment and to put out a call for applications rather than pursue a byelection for the remainder of the 2022-26 term.
However, details on the process still needed to be worked out, meeting attendees heard, and council had asked staff to come back with a report on how to execute an open, transparent and accountable application process.
It’s anticipated this upcoming special meeting will zero in on the proposed application procedure in more detail.
At this week’s meeting, attendees also heard appointing the runner-up from the last election isn’t an option, as the candidate no longer lives in Brighton and therefore isn’t eligible. (Just behind Faretis in the last election was William Schmidt with around 1939 votes.)
In accordance with the Municipal Act, as of Dec. 9, (when the vacancy was officially declared), council has 60 days to fill the seat. This means the vacancy must be filled by appointment on or before Feb. 7, 2025, according to municipal staff.
Earlier, council deferred officially declaring the seat vacant and deferred choosing how to fill it until its Monday, Dec. 16 meeting.
Council deliberated options and ideas at length at its Monday meeting following a staff report that laid out options.
In that same staff report, it also indicates a byelection would be more costly than an appointment process – it details the 2022 election cost about $36,000, excluding staff salary-related costs.
According to staff, costs for a byelection would be similar – although, this wasn’t the only area of focus, or concern raised during discussions around pursuing a byelection.
After the approval process/procedure is ironed out, staff said application information and additional details will be posted via the municipality’s website, under the dedicated elections section.
It’s anticipated interviews/presentations from interested candidates will take place early in the new year.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
