New Carefree Council Member Selected

A vacancy created when Tony Geiger resigned from the Carefree Town Council earlier this year was filled in the July Council meeting by majority vote of Council members and the mayor, which is the process prescribed by section 2-1-3 of the Carefree code of ordinances. 

Ten citizens applied for the position, and all made two-minute presentations in support of their candidacies. In the first round of voting no majority was achieved, as Lon Johnson, Clint Miller, Diane Roth and Dr. Sharon Smith all received votes. Under the rules established for election, three ballots were necessary, and in the third ballet Clint Miller was elected by a 3:2 majority vote over co-finalist Sharon Smith. 

Mr. Miller was then sworn in and participated in the remaining portions of the Council meeting. He assumes the remaining term of former councilman Geiger, which runs through 2026. 

All candidates were thanked for their participation and asked to volunteer for committees or otherwise participate in the town government. 

Other actions from this Council meeting included three spending authorizations: 

·         Approved, approximately $935,000 for the purchase of a Pierce Pumper Truck to replace the Town’s current American Lafrance Fire Truck. American Lafrance is no longer in business, and at twenty years of service this truck is approaching the end of its useful life and will be sold at auction. 

·         Approved, $75,000 for stucco refurbishment in the eastern area of Sundial Park between Sundial Circle and the amphitheater. This is phase three of a previously announced refurbishment program. 

·         Approved, $7,300 for a decomposed granite purchase to refresh the western area of Sundial Park. 

All items were approved 6-0, with councilman Johnson absent.

Prior to the Town Council meeting the Town held a short Budget Hearing in which the 2023/24 Town budget received approval in a pro forma session that finalized and formalized the budget that had previously been tentatively approved in the June Council meeting.  The votes in both June and July were unanimous; the total approved amount is slightly over $14 million, split approximately evenly between operating and capital expenditures.

Carefree Unity 7/14/2023