Addington Highlands To Appoint Ward 1 Councillor on February 12

When Tony Fritsch was appointed Reeve in early December after the death of former Reeve Hogg in late October, his Ward 1 seat was left vacant.

At their meeting on December 16, Addington Highlands Council declared the seat vacant. The Ontario Municipal Act provides two options for filling the position. One is to hold a byelection, which would cost an estimated $15,000, according to Chief Administrative Officer Christine Reed.

“There's only 11 months to go [until the next scheduled municipal election] and I couldn't see the logic of having a byelection for $15,000,” said Councillor Kirby Thompson, "so I'd be in favour of a direct appointment.”

The direct appointment option, also acceptable under the municipal act, usually happens in one of two ways, Reed told Council.

She said that Council could look to the results of the most recent election, and “approach that individual who happened to finish third in that election [the top two vote getters in the ward were elected] to see if they are interested in serving on council, or they can put out a public notice advertising that there is a vacancy, and requesting interested individuals to submit their intentions through an application process.”

“I would like to see the application,” said Councillor Helen Yanch, “to me that would be the way to go ... I think that is a fair way to go.”

Council agreed.

A notice has been posted on the Addington Highlands website, and is also posted in this week's edition of the Frontenac News (and will run until the end of January).

The deadline for applications is February 6th at 2pm, and Council will hold a special meeting on February 10, at 1pm, to make the appointment. The applicants must be from Ward 1, and be available to attend the February 10 meeting, in person.