Libby City Council debates quorum issue
How many councilmen should be required to pass an action?
March 6, 2007
The Libby City Council spent considerable time continuing to debate the wording of the language in their rules of procedure, specifically the section defining a quorum, and the number of affirmative votes required to conduct business.
This issue has been before the council for a considerable period of time. It is the clause that basically retained Councilman Stu Crismore in office when a District Judge reinstated Crismore from censure by the counsel for his alleged failure to fulfill his duties of office.
As originally written, the rule defined a quorum as four councilmen present and further required a minimum of four affirmative votes to pass an item of business, with the Mayor voting in case of a tie. Essentially requiring a two-thirds vote of the full council to enact an item.
The council changed the rule to still define a quorum as four councilmen present, but changed the number of affirmative votes to pass an item to a majority of those present, again, with the Mayor voting to break a tie. If only four are present, being a quorum, only three have to vote affirmative to act, opposed to the prior four. A two-two vote will be broken by the Mayor. If the Mayor is not present, and there is a two-two tie, the President of the Council will vote a second time to break the tie.
The vote to remove Crismore was a three-three tie with Mayor Tony Bergett voting to remove Crismore. Crismore successful argued that the vote did not meet the requirement that four affirmative votes of the council were required, since only three councilmen voted affirmatively for removal.
The council has traditionally operated on the three-three tie vote rule, and on a simple majority otherwise, ignoring the four affirmative vote rule, and it is ironically what saved Crismore from expulsion. Crismore has favored changing the rule to a majority vote.
Voting against the rule change was Councilman Doug Roll.
Crismore wanted to know if the council plans further action to remove him from office. The City Attorney, Charles Evans, has requested a reconsideration of the decision from District Judge Micheal Prezeau.
Story by KLCB Libby News Radio, www.todaysbestcountryonline.com
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