a. An election shall be held on the second Monday in February every year after the establishment of the Local Board to elect one (1) Trustee from the active members of the Fire Department for a term of four (4) years commencing on the day of his or her election. The Chief shall fix a time for holding a convention to nominate candidates for Trustees to be elected at each election. Each convention must be held at least five (5) days before the day on which the annual election is held, and the notice fixing the time and date of the convention must be posted at least five (5) days in advance of the convention. A convention consists of one (1) delegate selected from the Fire Department, and one (1) delegate who shall be selected by the Chief and his/her Assistants. The delegate from the Fire Department shall be elected by ballot by the Members of the department at a time to be fixed by the Chief in the call for a convention. The election of delegates shall be certified by the Chief or other Officer of the department, or, if there is not an Officer present, then by the oldest member of the department present. The convention, when assembled, shall nominate four (4) members of the Fire Department to be voted upon as Trustees, and the delegates shall report the names of the persons nominated as candidates to the Chief in writing.
b. The election shall be held at the Fire Station between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on the second Monday of each February. Votes shall be cast by secret ballot. Each member of the Fire Department is entitled to one (1) ballot, and the ballot may not contain the names of more than one (1) candidate chosen from the six (6) persons nominated by the convention. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected.
c. The Chief or other Officer in command of the Fire Department, immediately after the casting of the ballots, shall canvass and count the ballots. He or she shall certify, in writing, the total number of ballots cast and the number of votes received by each candidate for the Office of Trustee. After signing the certification, the Officer shall enclose it, together with all the ballots cast by the Fire Department, in an envelope, securely sealed and addressed, and deliver them to the Chief. The Chief shall deliver them to the Town Council President as soon as all certificates and ballots have been received by him or her. Upon receipt, the Town Council President shall, in the presence of the Chief and the Clerk-Treasurer, open the envelopes, examine the certificates, and determine the total number of votes cast for each of the candidates. The Town Council President shall then issue a certificate of election to the candidate having received the highest number of votes. If two (2) or more candidates have received the same number of votes, the Town Council President and the Chief shall immediately determine by lot who will be Trustee from the persons who received such equal number of votes.
d. An election may not be set aside for lack of formality in balloting by the members or for lack of formality in certifying of transmitting the returns of an election by the Officers in charge.
(Ord. No. 1541, § 5, 10-17-01)