(A) (1) Every elective office shall be vacant upon the happening of any of the events specified in Neb. RS 32-560 except as provided in Neb. RS 32-561.
(2) In the case of any vacancy in the office of Mayor or in case of his or her disability or absence, the President of the Council shall exercise the office of Mayor for the unexpired term until the vacancy is filled or the disability is removed or, in case of temporary absence, until the Mayor returns. If the President of the Council assumes the office of Mayor for the unexpired term, there shall be a vacancy on the Council.
(3) (a) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (A)(2), (4) or (5) of this section, vacancies in city elected offices shall be filled by the Mayor and City Council for the balance of the unexpired term. Notice of a vacancy, except a vacancy resulting from the death of the incumbent, shall be in writing and presented to the Council at a regular or special meeting and shall appear as a part of the minutes of the meeting. The Council shall at once give public notice of the vacancy by causing to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the city or by posting in three public places in the city, the office vacated and the length of the unexpired term.
(b) The Mayor shall, within four weeks after the meeting at which such notice of vacancy has been presented or upon the death of the incumbent, 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 for the balance of the unexpired term. The Council shall vote upon the nominee and, if a majority votes in favor of the 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 the meeting to submit the names of qualified registered voters in nomination and the Council shall continue to vote upon the nominations 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 Council who has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Council shall have the same rights, including voting, as if the person were elected.
(4) The Mayor and Council may, in lieu of filling a vacancy in a city elected office as provided in division (A)(3) of this section, call a special city election to fill the vacancy.
(5) If vacancies exist in the offices of a majority of the members of the City Council, the Secretary of State shall conduct a special city election to fill the vacancies.
(Prior Code, § 1-105)
(B) (1) In addition to the events listed in Neb. RS 32-560 and any other reasons for a vacancy provided by law, after notice and a hearing, a vacancy on the City Council shall exist if a member is absent from more than five consecutive regular meetings of the Council unless the absences are excused by a majority vote of the remaining members.
(2) The City Council shall take a vote on whether to excuse a member’s absence from a meeting upon either:
(a) A written request from the member submitted to the City Clerk; or
(b) A motion of any other Council member.
(3) If a Council member has been absent from six consecutive regular meetings and none of the absences have been excused by a majority vote of the remaining members, the City Clerk shall include this as an item on the agenda for the next regular meeting. At that meeting, the Council shall set a date for a hearing and direct the City Clerk to give the member notice of the hearing by personal service or first-class mail to the member’s last-known address.
(4) At the hearing, the Council member shall have the right to present information on why one or more of the absences should be excused. If the Council does not excuse one or more of the member’s absences by a majority vote at the conclusion of the hearing, there shall be a vacancy on the Council.
(Prior Code, § 1-108)
(Ord. 7-02, passed 7-8-2002; Ord. 4-03, passed 4-14-2003)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see Neb. RS 19-3101, 32-560, 32-568(4), 32-569