The Clawson City Council on Aug. 5 approved the first reading of an ordinance to amend Chapter 2 (Administration), Article 2 (City Council), Division 1, Section 2-39 of the Clawson Code of Ordinances to formalize procedures for filling council vacancies.

The ordinance, advanced out of the ordinance review committee, presents three procedural options the council could exercise when a council seat becomes vacant: (1) a nomination-and-referral process leading to appointment during a formal session; (2) a consensus appointment option; and (3) consideration of recent election results when making an appointment. Council approved the first reading as amended to allow the council to determine the number of applicants to interview rather than mandating interviews of every applicant.

Why this matters: The city charter requires vacancies be filled within 30 days. Council members and legal counsel said that short timeline complicates detailed procedural mandates and that the ordinance should balance transparency and flexibility so a process can be completed within the charter deadline.

Council discussion focused on three main concerns: how to pare down a potentially large applicant pool to a manageable number for public interviews, whether the “consensus” appointment option could enable off-dais negotiations, and whether the ordinance should bind the council to a rigid step-by-step process under the 30-day deadline. Several members supported changing language that would require interviews of every applicant to allow the council to choose a subset for public interviews in order to keep the process practical within the charter timeframe.

City Attorney Neuschay and ordinance-review participants explained the committee intentionally left multiple options in the text so council could choose the approach that best fits future vacancies. During debate counsel reminded members that ordinances may be amended later if the council wants more specificity.

The council approved an amendment allowing the council to determine the number of applicants it will interview before proceeding with a public interview process. On the first reading vote as amended the roll call was: Mayor Millan: Yes; Mayor Pro Tem Moffett: No; Council member Scott: Yes; Council member Shepherd: Yes; Council member Anderson: Yes.

Next steps: The ordinance returns for a second reading with the committee’s recommended language and the change approved on first reading; staff and council members noted the text can be further amended after public feedback or if the council later decides to specify an explicit pairing-down mechanism.