Williston Council Vice President Marguerite Robinson presides over a workshop Tuesday. She voted to cancel the workshop.

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

            Things got a little fouled up at Tuesday’s Williston City Council workshop when the board voted 3-2 to cancel the meeting and allowed the mayor to cast the tie-breaking vote.

            The mayor has no authority under the city charter to cast votes.

            A second issue surfaced when the council was told that the referendum they requested two months ago to give themselves pay raises probably can’t be placed on the March 3 city election ballot due to legal technicality.

            The mayor can’t vote on any council issue including breaking a tie, but in this case a majority of the board was in favor of the mayor casting a vote because it was a workshop, they were deadlocked 2-2 on whether to cancel the workshop and the vote wasn’t binding.

            The mayor can veto any action taken by the council 30 days after passage, but he has no vote in council meetings.

            Councilwoman Nancy Wininger was absent due a personal issue at home and she had requested the workshop to discuss the duties of City Manager Scott Lippmann. Council Vice President Marguerite Robinson presided over the workshop in Wininger’s absence.

             When Robinson called for a vote, she and Councilman Charles Goodman favored canceling the workshop due to Wininger’s absence, and the fact that Wininger requested the workshop. Councilmen Justin Head and Elihu Ross wanted to proceed with the workshop.

            Robinson asked for council guidance. City Attorney Fred Koberlein wasn’t present. Councilman Elihu Ross said the mayor can’t vote “not even in special circumstances.” Ross is the senior member of the council.

            “Can I vote here?” Mayor Jerry Robinson inquired.

            Lippmann responded that the council doesn’t vote in workshops. Williston Council workshops are for discussion only.

            “It’s not a legally binding vote. You would be part of the discussion and you have a right to express your opinion,” Lippmann said to the mayor. “You can proceed or postpone.”

            The council voted 3-2 to postpone, with the mayor breaking the tie with his “straw vote.”

            City Clerk Latricia Wright was asked to add an agenda item for next Tuesday’s council meeting to set another day for the workshop.

            Referendum Frustration

            The problem with the referendum was another source of frustration for the board. The city’s charter sets the salary for council members. The charter must be amended by a referendum vote to raise the salaries of council members. The council wants to double to mayor’s salary to $500 monthly and council members’ monthly salaries to $400.

            When the council discussed giving itself a raise on Nov. 17, 2019, Koberlein was present but made no mention of needing an ordinance before the matter could be placed on the March 3 city ballot.

            Wright said Koberlein called her after 4 p.m. today (Jan. 14) to say the referendum had to be approved by an ordinance. An ordinance must be read at separate council meetings two weeks apart before it can be adopted. The requirement means the supervisor of elections won’t have time to place the issue on the March 3 ballot. Waiting a month to adopt the referendum ordinance would mean final adoption would have to wait until mid-February.

            “In order to do any amendment to the charter you have to go to a referendum and you have to then get 60 percent or higher (approval) of the votes cast,” Lippmann said. “We found out today an ordinance is needed, which means it’s delayed at least two meetings and the supervisor of elections is sending out the (absentee) ballot now for the March city election.”

            This year, the supervisor of elections must also print ballots in Spanish.

            Goodman said the issue of the referendum ordinance was not part of the scheduled workshop and he wasn’t willing to continue discussing a non-agenda item. Vice President Robinson adjourned the workshop.

            Koberlein is just now preparing the ordinance for the referendum vote.

            Lippmann said he believes the earliest time the issue could be placed on the ballot would be in November.

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City of Williston Workshop January 14, 2020; Posted January 14, 2020