Latest news with #TerraAlta
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Terra Alta council appoints mayor, recorder at emergency meeting
TERRA ALTA, (WBOY) — Following the recent resignations of its mayor and town recorder, Terra Alta's Town Council held an emergency meeting Thursday evening to appoint people to serve as interims in those positions. During the emergency session, the council appointed James 'Monk' Tasker as interim mayor and Jason Verbonitz as interim town recorder, both will serve in these roles until July 1. The town's municipal election will be held on June 10. 'So, filling that vacancy of mayor and recorder, we had to fill that so that we can continue to move forward to pay our bills, our utilities, things like that so we aren't falling behind with late fees and things being shut off,' Terra Alta Town Clerk Kambra Sisler said. 'So, now that we do have an active mayor and a recorder, we can proceed with paying our monthly bills as usual and try to take steps forward to get moving in the right direction.' Earlier this month, former Terra Alta Mayor Dan Hauger took responsibility for the town's failure to meet its 2025-2026 budget deadline, which could jeopardize the town's ability to collect taxes for the next fiscal year. The West Virginia State Auditor's office previously told 12 News that the town was seven weeks behind on submitting an extension to submit its budget. Levy funds in jeopardy for Terra Alta Public Library 'We did submit the budget last Friday, [May 23], we sent that by email to the state,' Sisler said. 'We got an email back that said that 'it was their standard acknowledgement that we submitted the budget, and that they had received it, that the acknowledgement does not imply it is being processed at this time. I must speak with our legal department before I consider processing this budget document that you have submitted.' So, I do have phone calls into the state today.' During the meeting, concerned community members questioned the four council members about the town charter and the recent appointments of the mayor and recorder. Town officials admitted they could not locate the current charter and only found an outdated version from before the town was officially established. They also explained that they were following guidance from the state code in making the appointments. Despite Hauger's resignation, he is the sole candidate listed on the ballot for mayor in the upcoming election, making his re-election highly likely. Should Hauger be re-elected, he will be required to resign once more, prompting the council to appoint a new mayor for the term beginning July 1. A comparable situation applies to former town recorder Mikaela Bernard, who is running as a write-in candidate against two others. If elected, she would also need to resign, and the council would once again appoint someone to fill the position. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Terra Alta council approves 2025-26 budget and acknowledges recorders resignation
May 23—TERRA ALTA — During a special meeting Thursday evening members of the Terra Alta Town Council approved the 2025-26 fiscal year budget, but on Friday morning, the town's recorder submitted her resignation. In a post on the town's Facebook page, Mikaela Bernard submitted a formal letter of resignation to the town addressing the mayor and town council. In her post, Bernard stated she is stepping down from the position due to a multitude of reasons, one of which being the missing of the 2025-26 budget deadline. "With the missed deadline of the budget and now that I have all accurate and true information surrounding what needs to be done to attempt to solve what can be solved, I do not feel I can personally meet the obligations and the time and work requirement that will be necessary to do so due to my employment and having a new baby at home, " Bernard said. Bernard noted she did not know until May 12 that the budget needed to be completed, stating she was notified while working on matters leading to the upcoming municipal election. "But that's no excuse as my job as recorder I should have made sure to know this and know every aspect of the position, " she said. Bernard became recorder in 2023 as an official write-in candidate. Then-recorder Josh Dodge resigned from the post in April 2023, but his name remained on the ballot for the June municipal election. Dodge received 124 votes, and Bernard had 40. Bernanrd's statement noted the position of town recorder needed to be a full-time position. "My hope is that someone who has the ability and the time to do what needs to be done can be appointed to the position, " Bernard said. "I do not want to be in a position taking up space when I now know what needs to be done and I do not have the ability to fulfill it." An appointment may be unlikely, as the recorder position is on the ballot for the June 10 municipal election that will take place before the next town council meeting.
