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Ridgewood NJ, its that time , the Village Council Reorganization Meeting will be held on Monday, January 6th at 7:30 pm. Residents are invited to say goodbye to Councilmember Lorraine Reynolds and thank her for her service, and witness the swearing in of Councilmembers Paul Vagianos and Pamela Perron, and Councilmember-elect Frank Mortimer. The new Village Council will vote on who will be Mayor, Deputy Mayor and President Pro Tempore.
Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck will not be present at Village Hall for this week’s Village Council Reorganization Meeting.
However, Ms. Hauck will be permitted to cast her votes for Mayor and Deputy Mayor via some form of electronic communication.
Reportedly, in the event an electronic connection with Ms. Hauck can’t be made during the scheduled July 1 meeting, provisions have been made to hold meetings on Wednesday and Thursday to try a connection again.
If you read Ordinance #3-6, you can see why the 3 Amigos are so concerned about having Ms. Hauck vote.
§ 3-6. Mayor; Deputy Mayor; President Pro Tempore.
A. At 12:00 noon on the first day of July following each election of Councilmen, the Council shall assemble at Village Hall, organize and elect one of the Councilmen as Mayor. The Mayor shall be chosen by ballot by majority vote of all members of the Council. If the members shall be unable, within five ballots to be taken within two days of the organization meeting, to elect a Mayor, then the member who in the last election for members of the Municipal Council received the greatest number of votes shall be the Mayor. Should such person decline to accept the office, then the person receiving the next highest vote shall be the Mayor, and so on until the office is filled.
B. At the same time as a Mayor is elected, the Council shall elect one of its members as Deputy Mayor. The Deputy Mayor shall serve in place of the Mayor in the event of the temporary absence or disability of the Mayor. The Council shall elect a President Pro Tempore in the event of the absence or disability of both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
C. Vacancies in the office of Mayor or Deputy Mayor shall be filled by the Council for the remainder of the unexpired term.
That’s right ladies & gentlemen. If more than 48 hours goes by and Councilwoman Hauck can’t be reached, Susan Knudsen could become the Village’s next mayor.
