Second Ward Councilman Shawn Schulte will resign from the Jefferson City Council, effective May 30, after he announced plans to move to the city's 5th Ward.
At the City Council meeting Monday, Schulte read a prepared statement announcing his resignation. He said a home in the 5th Ward that he and his wife had been interested in for many years had recently become available and they plan to move from their 2nd Ward home.
"After three years, I'm still learning and working on being qualified to carry out my responsibilities as a council person," Schulte said. "I hope in some small positive way that I've contributed to the overall operation of city government."
Assistant City Attorney Jeremy Cover said, to fill Schulte's seat, the council needs to wait two weeks after Schulte's resignation is effective. At the June 16 meeting, Cover said, each council person will nominate a candidate for Schulte's seat and the council will vote on the replacement at the July 7 meeting.
In between nominations and voting, Cover said a public hearing will be held where council members and the public can ask questions of each candidate. Cover said an official timeline of the process will be ready at the June 2 meeting.
An election for the seat will not be held until April 2015, Cover said, which is when Schulte's current term would have been up.
Mayor Eric Struemph said next month he plans to nominate Schulte for a seat on the Parks and Recreation Commission, of which Schulte currently serves as council liaison.
And though Schulte said he had no definite plans on running for another council seat or other city office, other council members and Struemph implied that he would not be gone long, with Struemph saying Schulte is probably not really leaving, adding his chosen words for Schulte would be "to be continued."
Schulte said he is most proud of his work with the city's Finance Committee, which he currently chairs. Schulte had spearheaded efforts to change the city's budget process to include budgeting based on actual numbers, not projections, and having council members receive quarterly financial reports.
Schulte said he would most miss all the people he's worked with at City Hall.
"What is my take away form this experience? While it is easy to criticize (and I've done my share the last three years), we, the citizens of Jefferson City, have an amazing devoted staff who do not nearly get enough credit for all they do," Schulte said.