BURTON CITY COUNCIL SWEARS IN RUEMKE, ORDERS JUNE 13 RUNOFF FOR TIED RACES
The Burton City Council on Tuesday swore in its newest member and called a runoff election for the two council races in the May 2nd election that ended in a tie.
(left) was sworn into office by City Secretary
Amanda Klehm during Tuesday's council meeting.
After the council canvassed the returns from the election, Charly Ruemke was administered the oath of office for the Position #3 seat. Ruemke received 73 votes to the 55 of incumbent Jeff Eckhardt.
Councilmembers then ordered an automatic recount and a runoff election set to be held on Saturday, June 13th for Position #2, where incumbent Tommie Gilmon and challenger Sheila Ripple tied with 66 votes, and for Position #5, where incumbent Macey Tidwell and challenger Berneake Gantt each accrued 65 votes.
City Secretary Amanda Klehm said the city does not have any rules or ordinances for what to do in the event of a tie, as there has never been one since the city’s incorporation in 1972. Following a state-mandated hand count audit that matched the initial election results, she said the options to break the tie were to cast lots or – what was ultimately agreed to by the candidates – proceed with a runoff.
According to the Texas Secretary of State’s website, Monday, June 1st will be the first day of early voting for the runoff. Early voting will conclude on Tuesday, June 9th.
Klehm said the city will be responsible for paying the cost of the recount and the runoff, noting that the hand count audit was for the state’s purposes only and cannot take the place of the recount.
Later in the meeting, the council chose Nathan Kalkhake to serve as mayor pro tem and Paul McLaughlin as sargent-at-arms.
Also on Tuesday, the council approved a contract with Aoka Engineering to review Burton ISD’s 2021 plans related to fire suppression requirements and evaluate the city’s capacity to support the proposed system, which would connect a 12-inch fire suppression line to the city’s 6-inch water line. Mayor Karen Buck said the review is meant to examine the potential effects on the city’s water infrastructure and better determine what it can handle.
The vote came after a presentation from students in Texas A&M University’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, who studied the city’s wastewater infrastructure and presented their findings and associated recommendations for how to improve the system. Those recommendations included conducting inspections and smoke testing around the North Railroad Street line, installing inflow protectors on manholes, implementing a routine maintenance program, and putting in more trash cans in restrooms to prevent blockages from non-flushable items being flushed.
In other business, the council:
- Approved a resolution authorizing submission of a water system and infrastructure grant through the Texas Water Development Board.
- Designated the current members of the council as the authorized signers for all bank accounts for the City of Burton at Citizens State Bank and permitted the city secretary to call and contact the bank regarding information on the bank accounts.
