The following procedure shall be used in filling a vacancy in the office of a member of the County Council or the Office of the County Executive, whether temporary or permanent:
(1) solicitation for applications to fill the vacancy shall be advertised in one or more newspapers with general circulation in the County;
(2) the central committee of the political party, if any, with which the former member had been affiliated may submit the name of an applicant to be interviewed;
(3) applications shall be accepted by the Administrative Officer to the County Council up to a date agreed upon by at least four Councilmembers;
(4) the County Council shall schedule a public hearing and interviews with the applicants on a date agreed upon by at least four Councilmembers; and
(5) (i) following the interviews, a roll call vote to fill the vacancy shall be taken, with each Councilmember recommending an applicant;
(ii) if no applicant receives a majority vote on the first ballot roll call, successive ballots roll calls, consisting of those applicants who received at least one vote on the previous ballot roll call, shall be taken until one applicant receives a majority; and
(iii) if no applicant for a vacancy on the County Council receives a majority vote within thirty days of the vacancy, the Administrative Officer of the County Council shall forward the names of the applicants receiving at least one vote on the last ballot roll call to the State central committee of the political party of the former member or, if no central committee exists for the party of the former member, to the County Executive.
(Res. No. 9-00; Res. No. 8-03; Res. No. 42-13)