NORFOLK, Neb. -- Former Mayor Josh Moenning stepped down and handed the gavel to Councilman Shane Clausen, the City of Norfolk is looking to fill his seat for Ward 2, which is the northwest quadrant of Norfolk.

In order to fill Norfolk's ward seat correctly, Nebraska state law requires a process for filing a city council vacancy, and it is something the council cannot change.

“State law has a period of time that lasts about four weeks, which is the time you have for the vacancy until the vacancy is supposed to be filled," said Andy Colvin, Norfolk City Administrator. "Whatever the city does, we have to work within those boundaries that the state sets for us. Our city code had a shorter time frame to fill the vacancy, leaving us a short couple of weeks.”

In the past, the mayor would meet with a small group of council members to conduct interviews and make an appointment at that special meeting.

When looking to take office, newly elected Mayor Clausen said wanted to change that.

Clausen’s intended goal was to have a more public, transparent, and broader interview process with applicants. With Norfolk's city code, it was going to be very difficult to do, especially in such a short time.

The amendment brought forward in Monday night's council meeting was to remove some restrictions and follow what the state law has set up. This would give the council more time to fill the vacancy, take more time, slow things down, have more interviews, and make it a more public process.

During Monday’s city council meeting, it was not approved, which has the council working within the current city code to do the best they can until a temporary solution is voted on.

Clausen has proposed a temporary solution, which is an initial vetting of applicants and then a set of finalists that would come forward to the city council in public and be interviewed.

Ultimately, the final say will be by Clausen and who he wants to appoint for the vacancy, but the city council still has to approve whoever Clausen decides to appoint going forward.

Anyone interested in the Ward 2 seat, the City of Norfolk is accepting applications to fill the position.

They are asking for residents to submit a written statement of intent along with a personal resume to the city administrator’s office by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9, by email at [email protected] or you can drop off your resume at 309 N Fifth Street. 

You can also contact Colvin at 402-844-2000 if you have anymore concerns or questions.