There's a vacancy in Freeport city government that will have to be filled twice.
Current City Treasurer Linda Buss is retiring in June. She was re-elected in 2017 to a four-year term, and City Manager Lowell Crow said there was a question about what to do about the vacancy.
“Clerks and aldermen,” he said, “it’s very clear that we have to hold a special election at the next municipal election to replace them. Treasurers were not specifically called out in the ordinance."
Crow said the state advised them that, yes, a special election has to be held for a replacement during the municipal elections next April. In the meantime, Crow said, Freeport Mayor Jodi Miller will appoint an interim treasurer.
But, Crow said, there are questions there, too.
“Our attorney’s giving us some legal guidance as to who can be appointed and who can’t,” he said, “and whether they can serve in multiple offices or not. And so, we’re still waiting on a ruling on that.”
Buss has been Freeport’s City Treasurer for 25 years and won election to the post seven times.
