That question now arises in Ramsey.
Paul Levy, Strib, Dec. 11, "Ramsey's Absentee Mayor." This link.
The reporting says Bob Ramsey will discuss the situation at Tuesday's council meeting.
Whatever he says, would hanging onto the mayor's position under these circumstances be doing the right thing?
And how long has this been going on and when did other council members learn of it?
Recalling that David Jeffrey had to resign his council seat when his health did not allow him to devote due time to the duty, is there a moral precedent, a moral imperative, if not a legal necessity?
This commuting thing seems too unwieldy, and when Dave Jeffrey noted his situation, and weighed what was proper, he took a step we can all admire.
______________UPDATE_____________
I think the way this reflects upon the city is clear in the single [so far] comment to Levy's reporting:
So let me get this straight, the Mayor is technically a Minnesota and City of Ramsey Resident, however he works in Minot, North Dakota. Presumably he works at least a 5 day work week which means that he spends most of his time in North Dakota. I would also assume that he has some form of household in North Dakota whether it be an appartment, house, etc. Explain to me, how this man can maintain his residence and more importantly maintain his status as Mayor of Ramsey. Sounds to me like he is a North Dakota resident at this point. It must be nice to be in charge of making decisions for a city, but those decisions have little impact on him personnally as his income and housing are secure in another state. Sounds like the city of Ramsey needs a new leader. While in today's day and age one can do alot of business over the phone and internet, there is just something that irks me about leaders taking elected positions and not actually living in the area they are elected to serve.
_____________FURTHER UPDATE______________
The situation was reported to be unprecedented, per League of Minnesota Cities. It seems there are four options. An immediate special election. Letting Bob stay on with a view that the out-of-state presence is temporary, and that he is committed to finish his term as he requests. Having a try, and deciding it is not working and having a special election. Having a try, running to the period where the Charter says the remaining six council members can appoint an interim person because time to the next election allows this.
The last option is fraught with hazards. First, four of six have to agree. Second, an interim appointment can be politicized, and a person appointed may want to run while holding an incumbency advantage. Third, a caretaker appointment could be made of one expressly disavowing any intent to run with an appointed incumbency advantage. That was how Nelson served as interim City Administrator while a successor to Norman was found - with a promise to not herself be in the running. As an example, former Mayor Gamec might be requested and agree to serve an interim period with the understanding he would not run in the next election where mayor would in the normal course be on the ballot anyway.
It seems a caretaker appointment would make the most sense if it comes to that. Bob's done a reasonable job where my disagreements have been mainly on policy and judgment, while basic integrity has seemed to be established. There might be a number of worse special election outcomes that would be possible in comparison to letting Bob give it a try while commuting. Work session participation would be a concern.
One bottom line - If Bob continues, and the council is amenable and there is no successful court challenge to the procedure; all others now on council, and Landform as a consultancy with a contract, would all have to be on the same page where if a potential Town Center development participant were to get cold feet per a "You mention demographics and market expectations, but your local situation is where your own mayor cannot find decent work in your town and is in North Dakota, no thanks on the risk," that all would be satisfied with that outcome and none would contend a commission was due the consultancy based on an argument that but for an extraordinary arrangement a deal might have come to fruition yielding a commission.
That's the big hurdle I see. If there is consensus that any such consideration would be a "Don't let the doorknob hit you ..." universal pre-understood response, then things might be doable with a proposal that Bob remain mayor. Still, there would be awkward dimensions, but without that understanding the city would be at risk. And I think it would sit best with citizens that if an appointment vs a special election comes into play that a consensus be reached in advance to seek a caretaker interim candidate.
_____________FURTHER UPDATE___________
Two things, first, an offered comment that is relevant enough to put into the post to assure it gets read:
Actually this is nothing new. Surprised the LMC is claiming that they have never heard of this. Kathy Monihan-Junek, when she was on the Maplewood City Council, was the city administrator of Ely MN. She would live up there and drive down here for the Monday night meetings. I think this went on for over a year. I think she claimed that she was visiting her cabin property or something like that. Her buddies on the city council said nothing. So a lot of this has to do with politics.
John Kysylyczyn, Roseville
Second, perhaps viewing the headline, I have been challenged as whether the Crabgrass commentary "reflects well on the city." It is a fair "glass house" criticism.
The more I think of it the better I feel with what Bob intends. I missed the meetings and work sessions yesterday because of family needs, but I expect the council was accepting of the situation. [Sakry so reported in ABC Newspapers, online here]. Just as towns have to adapt to the hard times arising after the housing and commercial real estate collapse during the Bush years, and the Bush Bank Bailout reprecussions - cash flowed out of the economy on a bipartisan basis to pay off Wall Street's bad gambling debts - individuals have to adapt too, and Bob's taking an opportunity where he believes he can manage a temporary job outside of the city with his family remaining in Ramsey - residing in the town - and his ultimate hope to return. I understand that pay opportunities in the North Dakota oil patch are such that Bob might save some capital and be able to again be a Ramsey businessperson. I think we all wish him well that way, and that the physical demands and job dangers are weathered without mishap.
I am at peace with whatever the remainder of the council chooses to do about the situation for as long as it lasts, and I trust Bill Goodrich will be advising well over legal requirements. Good luck to Bob and family.
I think the city should arrange teleconferencing for its work sessions to accomodate the situation.
Reporting was that official meetings where votes are taken require personal attendance, and it appears Bob's arranged for that.
___________FURTHER UPDATE__________
It appears from a reader comment that a commuting official precedent exists, (see above quoted comment of John Kysylyczyn). That comment was brief without indicating a resolution one way or the other. It ended by saying nobody on the town council involved cared to make a case of it.
I presume Bill Goodrich is comfortable in saying Bob remains a resident, knowing of that Ely case and also of the censured Hennepin County judge living, as a discretionary choice of leisure and taste, not necessity, outside of the County. E.g., this link - Patricia Karasov. There is that precedent and I am unaware of how Bill Goodrich would distinguish it. I am certain Bill knows of it. There was very much press coverage.
_____________FINAL UPDATE____________
In Bill's place, the primary distinction, each of the two other officials had, Kathy Monihan-Junek between Ely in the North, and Maplewood in the Metro area, and Judge Karasov, is that each kept a full-time and intended permanant job, while each juggled residence situations (Judge Karasov never saying she'd breached any residency requirement but with a finding against her claim). Bob has shown no definitive intent to remain in North Dakota, the oil boom is recognized as transitory with the labor demand to quell sometime, and Bob has family staying in Ramsey helping to define residency - something Karasov lacked, with the Monihan-Junek situation unclear. Each of the three cases look to be unique, and in two out of three a critical distinction is nobody stepped forward to rock the boat (Karasov appearing unique that way).
There is a dimension of honesty in Ramsey via its mayor's activity admitting in a straightforward way that the town itself, Ramsey, lacks sufficient quality-work for quality-pay jobs to keep its own mayor home.
Honest, but not something to be praised. Instead of more housing development, the focus all along should have been bettering the business and job prospects, but Jerry Bauer was noted in an older set of Ramsey council minutes pointing out his property north of Highway 10 and west of Armstrong was, then, worth less on the market zoned as "places for jobs" than if dense housing were a then-available use. He said something to the effect that they "were giving away" industrial-use land in Eden Prairie at the time. That or Edina, I forget which. Tom Kurak in a deposition also is on record saying that the market then, before the town center land was purchased by Nedegaard's LLC, had a value basically proportional to the density of housing that could be placed on it.
However, that is what city council discretion exists for - getting the jobs and businesses with those jobs in Ramsey. Not "Christian" schools, not "PACT schools, not municipal owned and financed stuff, but solid and productive working job-creating land uses.
We are still waiting. Hopefully Bob will grow so tired of commuting that he will focus away from Flaherty rental subsidy, and upon getting himself and others better job opportunities without having to leave town, be it a cross-metro commute daily, or North Dakota oil boom work.
Bob Ramsey is the poster child now for the compelling need to get high quality - high pay jobs in Ramsey.
The past action of taking a part of the contiguous jobs and commercial band between the tracks and Highway 116 (It was called Industry Blvd for a reason), and doing the dumb Town Center thing is yesderday's mistake. Dumping more cash down that rathole is today's.
Jobs. For Bob and the rest of us. In Ramsey.
Thus, Developers are Crabgrass - instead of developing jobs in town, they went for the higher buck usage of property, or favored it, on record. Land speculators to be more precisely, not developers.