Ward 4 Council member Brett Smith announced his resignation from Auburn City Council at the meeting Tuesday night.
After citizens' open forum, Smith said that he had been offered a job in Florida and would be moving there at the end of the month.
"This will be my last meeting on City Council," Smith said. "An honor is not the right word to say, but it has been an honor to serve with each of you. Each of you inspires me by your uniqueness and what you bring to the Council."
Smith said that he would always have fond memories of Auburn and that the City was "a beacon, a shining beacon in the hill, that many other cities should look to be like", attributing its best qualities to its leadership and employees.
Mayor Ron Anders then asked City Manager Megan Crouch about the process of making the appointment to fill the rest of his term.
"When the seat is technically vacated, which is the very end of the month, you are to appoint a replacement at the next regular meeting, which would be at the June 7 meeting," Crouch said. "The person appointed at that meeting will be sworn on June 8 and would sit in that seat from through November 6, which is a Sunday."
Crouch said it would be normal to discuss anyone that the Council is interested in at the Committee of the Whole meeting, which is held right before the regular City Council meeting, make the appointment there, and then ratify that during the regular meeting.
An announcement for interested citizens would be up on the City of Auburn website Wednesday, May 18.
Mayor Anders encouraged anyone who has lived in Ward 4 longer than 90 days to apply and to send a letter of interest or call him if they'd like to discuss the position.
Anders also recommended to the Council that the person that they ultimately appoint is not someone who will be seeking a seat through the election in August.
"It's my belief that if we were to appoint somebody who will be running for this seat, it gives them a two-month head start, and could be viewed as being unfair to the other candidates who might be interested in running for Ward 4," Anders said. "I would encourage the Council to consider someone that just wants to serve for the next few months and finish this term out."
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Destini Ambus, senior in journalism, pursuing a minor in sociology is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
