PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Three city councilors have filed a letter with the city clerk's office calling on President Melissa Mazzeo to call a special meeting to sort out the process of choosing a council vice president.

 

The City Council debated for an hour Tuesday night the procedures for appointing or electing a vice president.

 

The City Council's rules state that the president is elected by the council and then he or she appoints a vice president. However, with the change in the city charter, some councilors believe the charter calls for the vice president to be elected as well.

 

On Tuesday, outgoing Ward 5 Councilor Jonathan Lothrop petitioned the council to update its rules to reflect language in the charter that he feels says the vice president should be elected. But, before a vote was cast on the measure, Mazzeo invoked the rarely used charter objection to halt it.

 

Tuesday was the last regular meeting of the year.

 

On Wednesday, Councilors Lothrop, Barry Clairmont and John Krol all signed a letter and filed it with the city clerk's office calling for a special meeting before inauguration to sort it out.

 

"I just think it is the right thing to do. I think we owe it to the new council coming in," Krol said on Wednesday.

 

According to the charter, three councilors have the ability to call a special meeting. The charter says the meeting notice should be delivered to each council member 48 hours in advance and "of the time set and shall specify the date, time, and location of the meeting and the purposes for which the meeting is to be held." 

 

Lothrop, Clairmont, and Krol's letter gives a range of dates — the week of the 21st — but not a specific date and time. The letter was filed with the city clerk's office on Wednesday and it is still unclear who determines time and date of the meeting. Krol says the letter shows the desire to hold a meeting and is calling on Mazzeo to follow through with setting it. 

 

Krol believes there are six votes in favor of amending the council rules to move the position to an elected one.

 

"We were ready to vote on it last night," Krol said. "I think it is better that the council chooses a vice president."

 

Inauguration on Jan. 4 when the new council — which features three new faces — will elect a president. Krol says the current council should clear the table and set the procedure in place so the debate isn't reignited then. 

 

Mazzeo suggested sending the Lothrop's initial petition to the Rules & Ordinance Committee but since the debate was stopped by a charter objection, the matter wasn't send to the subcommittee and can't be taken up. 

 

A charter objection can only be used "on the first occasion that a question on adoption of a measure is put to the City Council," according to the charter so if a special meeting does take place some type of action would be taken — whether that be to table it, file it, or adopt the change.