The Laketown Township Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Aug. 2, approved the procedure it will follow to choose a new member and set interviews for the end of the month.
The board has received at least 10 applications for the position that opened after the retirement of long-time Treasurer Gary Dewey on July 31. Dewey was replaced by Trustee Jim Johnson, a move that opened a trustee seat.
After the 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4, application deadline, Manager Al Meshkin will send the submissions to all board members who will then rank their top three to five candidates and return the list to Meshkin.
Board members will not discuss their choices among themselves because that would be a violation of the Open Meetings Act.
Meshkin will compile the results and set up interviews for the top three to five candidates. The board will interview those top applicants at a special meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30. They could choose the new trustee that evening.
The person chosen for the position will serve until the November 2024 election.
The Laketown Township board normally meets twice a month – a 5 p.m. workshop on the first Wednesday of each month and the 6 p.m. regular meeting on the second Wednesday of the month. Trustees serve on other boards or commissions, such as the planning commission, zoning board of appeals or other body as appointed by the supervisor or board.
A trustee is paid $5,000 a year.
The board is made up of five people – supervisor, clerk, treasurer and two trustees.
Also on Wednesday, the board agreed to cancel its Aug. 9 regularly scheduled meeting.