Board sets timetable for appointing mayor

A schedule for filling the vacant mayoral seat that was presented to the Hot Springs Board of Directors on Tuesday would install a replacement no sooner than the board’s May 16 meeting.

The board adopted a resolution during a special-called meeting Tuesday declaring the mayoral seat, or Position 7 on the board, vacant. Ruth Carney resigned from the position Friday. She was in the third year of her second term, which runs through next year.

A resolution establishing the schedule for selecting Carney’s replacement will be the first item of new business at the March 21 board meeting. The timeline would make application packets available March 22 and impose an April 11 submission deadline.

Registered voters residing in the city for at least 30 days and who are 21 or older are eligible to apply. Applications would be given to the board for review April 14. The board would convene a special-called meeting April 25 to select the applicants it wants to interview. Another special-called meeting would be held May 9 to interview the finalist and appoint a new mayor by a secret ballot majority of city directors.

Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Lance Spicer told the board that the schedule calls for the new mayor to be sworn in before the May 16 meeting. He said the timetable presented Tuesday has been used to fill previous board vacancies and can be adjusted as the board sees fit.

Applicants are required to present a resume, file a statement of financial interest and a

petition for nomination that includes the signatures of at least 50 registered voters residing inside the city.

Mayor is an unpaid position that votes on all matters that come before the board. The mayor presides over all board meetings, is recognized as the head of city government for all ceremonial purposes and by the governor for the purposes of military law.

The mayor also signs all written agreements, contracts and other written instruments on behalf of the city. The board’s appointee will be eligible to run for mayor in 2018.

The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn FILL-IN WORK: City Manager David Frasher, left, listens Tuesday at City Hall as District 3 City Director Becca Clark serves as vice mayor during an agenda meeting. Clark will preside over Hot Springs Board of Directors meetings until the board appoints...