Auxvasse still without new mayor after City Council meeting
AUXVASSE, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Auxvasse will continue to be without a new mayor.
The City Council decided to hold off on appointing a new mayor at its meeting on Monday after former Mayor Ronald Dye resigned nearly two weeks ago.
"My understanding is he was getting constant calls. People were calling over and over and over and texting him over and over and over," Nathan Nickolaus, the attorney for the city, told ABC 17 News. "He just got tired of putting up with it."
To Nickolaus's knowledge, there have been no appointees made so far. Dye resigned on Oct. 10. Alderman Clifford Wenneker has since been serving as the mayor pro tem.
The new mayor will serve until April, when an election for a new mayor will be held. The person who will be elected as mayor will serve out the rest of the current term, according to Nickolaus.
Nickolaus previously stated the next mayor will be appointed by the City Council in an open meeting, following a nomination by one of the aldermen. The next open meeting -- according to online records -- is Tuesday, Nov. 14. A new mayor was expected to be picked on Monday. Nickolaus added that there is no timeline for how long the process might take.
"It's hard to say, I've seen different cities do it in different ways. Sometimes they will fill that spot really quickly, sometimes they will keep it open for quite a while," Nicklaus said. "I think that one of the considerations might be that come December 3rd you have election candidacy opening so they may be waiting to see what happens then."
An application is not needed to be considered. Nickolaus said that those who are interested should contact an alderman.
In his resignation letter dated Oct. 9, Dye stated he resigned due to backlash from residents.
“Due to the persisting feeling from the Citizens of Auxvasse that I am not a competent mayor, along with that I do not have the city’s best interest in heart, and I only care about mone., I hereby resign my position as mayor effective immediately,” the resignation letter reads.
“This was a difficult decision to make but given the current attitude and feelings of the community it is in the city’s best interest I forgo my duties and I submit my resignation. I have always only had the best interest of this city at heart. I have lived here 51 years, and it has changed, and we have become a city I do not remember or recognize, I was trying my best for what we needed for this city. I wish the best to the city, its citizens and the new mayor well.”
Republican State Rep. Kent Hayden, who represents Callaway and Audrain counties, was in attendance. A spokesperson from Hayden’s office told ABC 17 News that Haden has heard several complaints from constituents from Auxvasse, but all of them have been regarding dog bites, not the former mayor.
"I think the heat came on him and he said 'I'm done I'm out of here," Jamey Dorner, an Auxvasse resident who says her son was bitten by the dog, said when asked why she thought the mayor resigned.
Multiple angry residents spoke at the meeting during the public comment to complain about the dog bites.
"That's why all these people are here. They could care less about the mayor," Auxvasse Police Chief Kevin Suedmeyer told ABC 17 News after the meeting.
