dan-benitzThe Jefferson City Council will have a vacancy to fill.

Council member Dan Benitz submitted his letter of resignation to the City on May 18th effective immediately. The reasons he gave for stepping down was feedback he received for not attending a committee meeting on Monday, May 8th and missing a City Council meeting on May 9th. He had family commitments for the committee meeting, of which he states he wasn’t a member of but was invited to attend. He also notes for the Council meeting, he saw it was a short agenda and decided to farm for his employer northwest of Rockwell City and wouldn’t be able to be back in time.

City Administrator Mike Palmer says the city attorney will go over the different options at the City Council meeting tonight. Palmer says the Council has 60 days to fill the vacancy and then the seat will be up for election this November to fill the rest of the term until 2019.

The seat must come from Ward Two, which Benitz represents. He won in 2016 to fill Council member Lisa Jaskey’s term after she resigned to do relocating to Texas. Benitz beat Matt Wetrich and Kirk Hammer in that election.