BRITTON COUNCILMAN RESIGNS AFTER LEGAL QUESTION

    Britton City Council member Jerome Marlow submitted his resignation late Monday night, emailing city officials after the council’s regular meeting had already adjourned. Marlow, who was elected in June, stepped down just hours after publicly questioning whether two fellow councilmen were serving legally.
    During the meeting earlier in the evening, Marlow raised concerns about the procedure used last June to return Tim Dahme and Brian Beck to the council. Both men previously served on the board but did not file petitions to run for re-election. No other candidates filed either, and Mayor Clyde Fredrickson reappointed them to their seats.
    Marlow told the council he believed that under state law their appointments required council approval and, without such a vote, the men might be serving illegally. He said he had consulted several attorneys who—based on the facts he provided—also questioned the legality of the process.
    City Attorney Justin Scott disagreed, stating during the meeting that city officials had followed proper procedure and citing South Dakota statutes.
     Fredrickson reaffirmed that position.
    “It is my opinion based on the information of our legal representation that the actions we took were correct,” he said. “If we are incorrect, we will take action to fix it. Right now we believe everything we have done is legal. If we are in violation of some law, we will take steps to rectify it.”
    He added that the city would continue researching the matter. Because the issue was not listed on the published agenda, no action could be taken Monday night. The council later held a closed executive session “for personnel,” with no action afterward.
    Later that night, Marlow sent an email resigning from the council, effective immediately.
    Following the meeting, Scott provided a written explanation of the city’s position on the matter. 
    He noted that neither Dahme nor Beck filed petitioned for their seats, and no other candidates filed either. Under SDCL 9-13-14.3, when an elected official’s term expires and no successor is elected, “the office is deemed vacant” but “[t]he elected official whose term has expired shall continue to act in an official capacity until the vacancy is filled” either by election or by appointment as allowed under related statutes.
    Scott also pointed to Britton City Ordinance 1.08.040, adopted in 2011, which requires vacancies or holdover positions to be filled by election rather than appointment. The ordinance states that if a council member holds over because no one filed for the seat, “then such position shall come up for election at the next general municipal election. Any appointment that occurs due to a vacancy or any holdover council member’s position shall then be filled by election at the next general election.”
    Because Britton has enacted that ordinance, Scott said the city is operating under SDCL 9-13-14.2, which states, “[t]he elected official whose term has expired shall continue to act in an official capacity until the vacancy is filled by election or appointment pursuant to § 9-13-14.1 or 9-13-14.2.”  The City, by ordinance, has elected the provisions of 9-13-14.2, and, therefore, Councilmen Beck and Dahme continue to act in an official capacity until the next general election.