The Monmouth City Clerk will be on the November election ballot — not the person, the question of how the city clerk is selected.
Monmouth aldermen this week approved putting a referendum on the November 5th ballot as to whether or not the city clerk should be elected as it is now, or appointed.
“I think we have an opportunity with the elected City Clerk, Susan Trevor, who has said she is not going to be seeking reelection and is retiring, that now would be a good time to take a look at this and at least present the question,” said Lew Steinbrecher, city administrator.
Steinbrecher tells WGIL he sees the clerk as more of an administrative position anyway, instead of a policy-making one.
Trevor will be in office until May, and Steinbrecher says regardless of what happens with the position, he doesn’t believe institutional knowledge will be lost.
“We’re certainly going to miss Susan. She’s been a fixture here at City Hall as our City Clerk for many years,” said Steinbrecher. “We’ve also had a full-time administrative assistant that has been assigned part-time to assist the clerk with her duties and functions.”
Steinbrecher says while city staff should be able to fill the role well, he believes in the future the city can recruit better candidates from all over to fill the role if it’s appointed.
Aldermen this week also approved an increase in rates for camping at Citizens Lake, starting in the Spring of 2025.