SUPERIOR, WI (CBS-3) – On November 3rd, Superior residents will vote on whether they want to make the city’s mayor a part-time position.
That was decided at a fiery city council meeting Tuesday night where councilors voted 6-4 in favor of the ballot question.
The referendum would ask one simple question; do the citizens of Superior want to make Mayor Jim Paine and future mayor’s position part-time and hire a full-time city administrator?
The question comes from recommendations after the city hired a consulting firm to address issues like staffing, budgeting, and technology upgrades.
Mayor Paine, did not address the issue personally during the meeting, but feels strongly that the council made a mistake adding the question to the ballot before hashing out any real details. He said no one knows what a part-time mayor would look like. So it’s wrong to pose the question to voters who don’t know what they are voting for.
Council President Brent Fennessey, Council Vice President Craig Sutherland and Councilors Dan Olson, Jack Sweeney, Tylor Elm, and Keith Kern voted in favor.
Councilors Jenny Van Sickle, Warren Bender, Ruth Ludwig, and Esther Dalbec were opposed.
The referendum was originally supposed to happen in April but Councilor Olson, who proposed the referendum, amended it Tuesday night to put it on the November ballot instead.
(from CBS3-Duluth)
