A vacant seat on Saugeen Shores council will be filled by appointment.
All councillors support the approach but one questions part of the process.
The vacancy for the Saugeen Ward seat was created in February when Jane Barber resigned after accepting a new job in Alberta.
The opening will be advertised and anyone interested can apply to the Town Clerk.
You have to be 18 years of age or older, and own property or live in Saugeen Shores.
The candidates will each make a presentation to council and then who gets the job will be decided by the councillors voting with a show of hands.
That part of the process doesn’t sit well with Deputy Mayor Doug Freiburger.
He says he’d like to see the decision made by secret ballot.
Freiburger says it allows councillors to vote based on their true feelings.
He says people could be under pressure voting with a show of hands if the individuals standing in front of them are possibly friends, or not appropriate for the job.
Vice Deputy Mayor Doug Gowanlock agrees that a secret ballot would likely make for a truer vote.
Staff will look into whether the Municipal Act allows for a secret ballot or if a show of hands is required.
The alternative for filling the vacancy was to hold a by-election for the Saugeen Ward. That would have cost 48 hundred dollars, just to print the ballots and cover postage costs for the mail-in vote.
Municipal councils are required to fill vacancies within 60 days.
Jane Barber’s resignation took effect on February 28th.