The gap between council seats is where ousted Councilman Berlon Weeks normally sits. The seat was removed before Tuesday’s Bronson Council meeting.

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                The possibility that ousted Bronson Town Councilman Berlon Weeks could mount a legal challenge to his removal from office prompted the Town Council Monday to postpone until February a decision on whether to replace him.

            Weeks’ chair on the council had been removed before the meeting and Levy County Sheriff’s Lt. Jimmy Anderson was present at the request of Interim Clerk Melisa Thompson for security reasons.

            The previous council meeting on Nov. 23 ended 11 minutes after it started when Weeks demanded to be returned to his position on the council and took his seat with the council over the objections of Mayor Beatrice Roberts.

            Weeks and his attorney Blake Fugate didn’t attend Monday’s meeting. Fugate vowed at the Nov. 10 meeting that there would be legal paperwork filed in court to return Weeks to his seat by judicial order. No paperwork has been filed.

            Fugate said his client was illegally removed from office when the council voted 3-1 on Sept. 23 to accept Weeks resignation that they say he made at a meeting on Sept. 15. Weeks said his statements were not a resignation.

            Councilman Jason Hunt made the suggestion at Tuesday’s council meeting to hold off at least a month before deciding whether to replace Weeks. He was concerned about the council being sued by Weeks.

            “The last time his attorney was here he said we’re going to court. What happens if we go to court and we lose that court case and he’s supposed to come back to this seat; do we just remove the person we appointed? I am asking a question. That’s not over. I don’t know if we’re going to put the horse before the buggy by putting someone in there. If we do go to court and the court case favors him, and he has to come back, I have concerns about that.”

            Roberts called on Town Attorney Steven Warm to address Hunt’s concerns. Warm was available by the internet connection. Thompson had placed a microphone near a laptop to amplify Warm’s voice. Warm wasn’t present. He has attended council meetings from a remote location since the COVID-19 outbreak.

            “The answer is that would be up to the judge to decide. There’s no predicting with any certainty what’s going to happen in a court case. You only make the best assessment you can of the situation and act in accordance with what you feel is the right thing to do,” Warm said. “If a judge decides to reverse it and I thought there was likelihood that the judge would reverse it, I wouldn’t advise you of that and I haven’t. I’ve studied the matter pretty thoroughly and I’m pretty sure what you did was right. Can I guarantee it, no. Can anyone guarantee it, no. So I can assure you that he (Weeks) wouldn’t go to court. If he’s going to go to court I‘ve seen no sign of it yet.”

            Warm went on to say that if the judge reversed the council’s decision, the judge would have to rule on what the council should do with the person it just appointed to Weeks’ position. On the other hand, Warm said the law doesn’t require the council to replace Weeks.

            “By the same token, you have the right to do nothing,” he said.

            Warm said there is nothing in state law or in the town’s ordinances that outlines how quickly they must act on a council vacancy. He said the board has the option of appointing someone or allowing the seat to remain vacant until the next election. If there is a lawsuit and the judge rules against the town, he said the judge would have to determine the consequences.

            Councilman Aaron Edmondson suggested waiting to make a decision until after the first of the year.

            Councilman Robert Partin said he was undecided.

            “I’m on the fence with this,” Partin said.

            “You can’t be on the fence,” responded Roberts.

            “I feel like we could operate the four of us,” Partin responded. “This board is supposed to be five people and I think there’s a reason for that, but I also think 30 days is not going to hurt.”

            Edmondson’s motion to postpone a decision on filling the vacancy passed unanimously.

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Town of Bronson Regular Meeting December 7, 2020; Posted December 7, 2020