Council accepting letters of interest

Members of the Libby City Council voted Monday to delay the appointment of a replacement for Bill Bischoff, who resigned effective July 31. The council decided to solicit letters of interest from the public before deciding upon a new member.

After concluding the rest of the business items on the agenda, Mayor Doug Roll called Bischoff to the podium to address the council. Bischoff said the council should not select any of the candidates on the ballot, in order to avoid the appearance of favoritism. Instead, he suggested the council appoint former City Councilman Lee Bothman to the open seat. Bischoff said he approached Bothman about the appointment and Bothman was willing to accept the position.

Councilman Allen Olsen interjected with a point of order and nominated Councilman Brent Teske to the post of council president. After the meeting Olsen said he interpreted the agenda item to mean that the council would be filling the post of council president, not appointing a new member to the council.

Councilwoman Peggy Williams argued against Olsen’s motion.

“It’s not on the agenda,” she said. “So it’s inappropriate to have the vote.”

The line item on the agenda read: “Appointment of council member to take the place of Bill Bischoff.”

Mayor Roll brought the meeting back to order and asked the council to consider Bischoff’s suggestion. Councilman Olsen opposed the appointment, saying the council had established a process for appointing replacements, a process the council followed during the appointment of Councilwoman Dejon Raines earlier this year.

Roll defended Bischoff’s suggestion. He said the appointment was only for five months, so the council should just make the appointment.

Councilman Teske objected, saying the term of the appointment didn’t matter, the council should follow an open public process.

Councilwoman Raines then joined the discussion. She suggested the council follow the process established before and allow more people the opportunity to express their interest in the position.

Roll, obviously frustrated by the discussion, then conceded the argument. “It’s up to you guys,” he said to the assembled council members.

The city will be accepting letters of interest from residents wishing to serve on City Council until Aug. 28. Mayor Roll said there will not be a special meeting to appoint a new council member, it will be on the agenda for the regular council meeting Sept. 7.

After the meeting Councilwoman Raines said she felt the meeting represented progress for the city.

“I was encouraged that we were able to have a dialogue,” she said. “It got heated at times, but we were still able to discuss it and move forward, which is vital to making progress.”