Perth South is getting ready to fill a vacancy on council.
Following the recent tragic passing of Mayor Jim Aitcheson, council voted to appoint Deputy Mayor Sue Orr to the vacant mayor's seat.
That left the Deputy Mayor's seat vacant. Perth South Clerk Lizet Scott says now, council will move forward with the process of filling the vacancy on council. Scott says filling the Deputy Mayor role will be a part of the process that council will decide on at their next meeting on December 17.
"So we're filling the council seat once it becomes vacant and then we're appointing a deputy mayor. So due to timing, council may decide to appoint someone as deputy mayor who's currently on council, or they wait until the new member of council is appointed," Scott shared.
Scott says once the council seat is officially declared vacant, they have 60 days to fill it. She says soon staff will advertise that they are accepting nominations from the public, and she estimates it will likely be early February when the seat gets filled.
"Council will review the nomination papers. People who put their names forward have to be an eligible elector here in Perth South, which follows the Municipal Elections Act. Once council makes a decision, the new member of council will be appointed and then they will come to the next meeting as an official member of council," Scott noted.
