Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

MERRITT BY-ELECTION

City of Merritt to hold by-election in April 2024 to fill vacant council seat

Dec 22, 2023 | 6:00 PM

MERRITT, B.C. — Merritt’s mayor and council have decided to set a tentative date for a by-election in the new year. Council is aiming to fill one seat, which was left vacant after the passing of Councillor Claire Newman.

Mayor Mike Goetz says in a recent meeting, council opted for a by-election date of April 20, 2024. He says part of why council waited to set a date was to allow time for the city’s new chief administrative officer and a new corporate officer to get settled in their positions.

“We had two brand new people that had to get used to their roles,” he explains, “and we kind of felt with Claire Newman’s 15 years of service, we wanted to give her the respect of the time that she had put in and not replace her as quickly as possible. We decided that we would go until the end of the year and then we would have our by-election announced.”

According to the Local Government Act, an election must be held to fill a vacancy, unless the vacancy takes place after January 1 in the year of a general local election that will fill the seat. The next general election is scheduled for 2026.

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An exact figure hasn’t been determined yet but Goetz says the by-election cost will likely be around $10,000-to-$15,000, and the municipality has the funds available for it already.