Want to be on the Camas City Council?

If you live in Camas' Ward 3 zone and have always longed to sit on the city council, now is your chance. The city of Camas will accept applications from residents interested in running for appointment to the Ward 3 city council seat until 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 11. Camas City Council members will conduct interviews with applicants at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 15. Camas City Administrator Pete Capell said the Jan. 15 interview date may be rescheduled if the city receives too many applications, since the Camas Planning Commission is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. that night. The council expects to swear in the new council member on Jan. 22. The city council vacancy was created after council members appointed the Ward 3 city councilwoman, Shannon Turk, to fill the city's vacant mayoral seat. Turk took her oath as the mayor of Camas on Nov. 19. By law, the city must fill Turk's empty seat within 90 days, which gives city councilors until Feb. 17 to appoint a new Ward 3 council member. The appointed councilor will serve through Nov. 26, 2019, and would need to run for office in 2019 to serve the remaining two years of this position's four-year term. Applications are available at Camas City Hall, 616 N.E. Fourth Ave., and online at cityofcamas.us and on the city's Facebook page. To be eligible for this appointment, applicants must have resided within Camas city limits continuously for at least one year prior to their appointment to council, must live in Ward 3, and must be a registered voter in the city of Camas. A searchable index of Camas wards can be found online at https://goo.gl/PZR4C3. A map of Ward 3 is available online at https://goo.gl/frSwe7. The Camas City Council is the legislative body for the city of Camas, and is responsible for actions such as setting policy, adopting the city's biennial budget and confirming the mayor's appointments to advisory boards and committees. City council members meet on the first and third Monday of the month, from 4:30 to 9 p.m., and sometimes later. Councilors may need to travel locally, regionally and within the state of Washington. The duties of a city council member typically require between 20 and 40 hours of work per month. City councilors receive a monthly stipend of $816, plus a $50 per month technology allowance. For a detailed list of council duties and application instructions, visit cityofcamas.us/images/ADMIN/CouncilMemberWard3ApplicInstructions.pdf. For other questions, call Capell at 360-834-6864 or email pcapell@cityofcamas.us.

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