COLUMBIA, Pa. — Columbia Borough Council is set to vote Thursday night, Nov. 5, on the resignation of Councilman Tom Ziegler. If council accepts it, residents won’t vote on his replacement right away. Council will appoint one.
Here’s how the process works under Pennsylvania’s Borough Code, step by step.
Step 1: Council accepts the resignation
A council member’s resignation doesn’t take effect just because they hand in a letter. It becomes official when council accepts it by a majority vote at a public meeting with a quorum present. If the member named a later date, it takes effect on that date instead.
- Council has 45 days from receiving a written resignation to act. If it doesn’t, the resignation is automatically accepted.
- A member can withdraw a resignation, but only in writing and only before council accepts it.
Step 2: Council has 30 days to appoint someone
Once the seat is vacant, the remaining council members have 30 days to appoint a replacement. They do it by passing a resolution at a public meeting. There is no special election.
Step 3: If council can’t agree, a vacancy board steps in
If council misses the 30-day deadline, the job goes to a vacancy board. The board is made up of the council members, not the mayor, plus one registered voter council chooses to chair it. The board has 15 more days to make the appointment.
Step 4: If the board can’t agree, a judge decides
If the vacancy board also fails, its chair asks the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas to appoint someone.
Who can be appointed
- Must be a registered voter in Columbia Borough, or in the ward if the seat represents a ward.
- Must have lived in the borough continuously for at least one year right before the appointment.
- Can’t be a sitting school board member, and can’t hold another elected borough office at the same time.
How long the appointee serves
The person appointed serves until the first Monday in January after the next municipal election held more than 60 days after the vacancy. For a vacancy this fall, that is the November 2027 election, so the appointee would serve until early January 2028, if Ziegler’s term lasts that long. Voters would then elect someone to serve out any time left on the term.
Want the seat?
Residents interested in being considered should contact Borough Hall at 717-684-2467 or stop by 308 Locust St. to ask how council will take applications.
It doesn’t always go smoothly. In 2021, Columbia council failed on several tries to agree on an appointee for a vacant seat, the Columbia Spy reported.
Thursday’s full meeting agenda
The Columbia Borough Council workshop meeting begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in the Paul W. Myers Council Chambers, 308 Locust St. It will be livestreamed on the borough’s YouTube channel. Here is the agenda in full:
- Call to order and roll call
- Invocation or moment of silence
- Pledge to the flag
- Additions, deletions and reorganization of the agenda, and approval of the agenda
- Leadership committee reports: Legislation; Finance (finance report and monthly accounts summary); Community Development (zoning, planning and historic review board report); Public Works; Public Safety (police, fire, EMS, emergency management and code reports); and the Market House
- New business: Accept the resignation of Councilman Thomas Ziegler, and approve the resignation and settlement agreement with Paula Diffenderfer, the borough’s former codes manager, who also served as second in charge of Right-to-Know requests
- Continuation of the 2027 budget meeting: the budget and funding requests from community organizations
- Citizen comments
- Boards and commissions: no vacancies; alternate openings on the Zoning Hearing Board (one) and Planning Commission (two). Volunteer applications are considered through the 20th of each month.
- Borough Council comments
- Upcoming meetings: none
- Announcement of the next meeting: a regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10
- Adjournment
The Columbia Chronicle will report on the outcome of Thursday’s meeting and how council plans to fill the seat.