Chadbourn residents may soon have a way to recall elected council members, if a new rule is approved.
The town council tonight will consider an agenda item containing a procedure to “provide a procedure to recall elected officials, subject to a referendum of Chadbourn residents.”
The move will require a change to the town charter, according to the agenda. Council members could be recalled and a new election held if a board member behaves in an unethical or illegal manner, or otherwise fails to uphold standards required by the town charter.
The town is using Leland’s recall rule as an example. If approved by the council, the recall measure would then to the legislature.
To remove a board member from office, a recall petition committee would have to file an affidavit with the county board of elections office naming the official, and why he or she should be considered for removal. The town clerk would then enter the petition in the town’s records.
The petition committee can be comprised of any five registered voters who live in the town. They will be responsible for circulating the recall petition and returning it within 30 days to the elections board. A minimum of 25 percent of the town’s registered voters as of the last election must sign the recall before it moves forward.
If the signatures are sufficient, the elections board will then investigate the claims and report the results to the town council within ten days. The town is responsible for any costs associated with investigating the claim. Claims may not be investigated for 30 days prior to or ten days after an election.
If the elections board upholds the allegation, the council member being investigated has five days to resign. If he or she does not, the town will be required to schedule a special election, which can be held in conjunction with other elections if they are scheduled for 60 to 90 days out.
Multiple petitions can be filed at the same time, and is multiple elections are required, they will be held simultaneously under the proposed rule.
The recall proposal comes after months of turmoil centering around three members of the council, which included a change in town managers and town attorneys, and allegations of council members attempting to circumvent town zoning and personnel rules.
Also on the agenda are details about mandatory ethics training, and a presentation from Home Serve, a company that provides coverage to water and sewer customers for expenses from clogs, leaks and other water and sewer problems. Chadbourn has received requests for more than $12,000 in adjustments on water and sewer bills over the past year. Chadbourn would receive ten percent of every premium payment. The program is strictly voluntary, and covers water and sewer lines from the meter into the structure, including internal problems.
Costs would range from $6.99 to $9.99 a month for customers. The company is currently serving a number of municipal and county systems statewide.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in town hall on Brown Street, and will be livestreamed via the town’s YouTube channel.
