Town left without leadership two weeks before election
TERRA ALTA — Mayor Dan Hauger announced his immediate resignation Tuesday morning, stepping down less than two years into his term and just weeks before Terra Alta’s June 10 municipal election.
Hauger had served as mayor for 23 months following the town’s last municipal election. In a statement sent to the town council and town employees, Hauger said he had reached his physical and mental limits.
“I regret to inform you that I have decided to resign from my position of mayor effective immediately,” Hauger said. “I have reached my mental and physical breaking point.”
Hauger was not immediately available for comment.
The resignation follows a similar move late last week by town Recorder Mikaela Bernard.
The mayor and recorder stepped down in the midst of a budget crisis after the town failed to submit an annual budget and levy rate to the state for approval. The lack of action on the budget has jeopardized the town’s finances, as the state auditor’s office has stated that Terra Alta will be unable to collect taxes (aside from the 1-percent municipal sales tax) in the coming year.
It also casts a shadow of the Terra Alta Public Library, which relies upon an excess levy for about $50,000 in funding annually.
The resignation leaves the town without a mayor or a recorder just ahead of the election, creating uncertainty about leadership in the interim.
Nathan Martin, an election specialist with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, said the town council has the authority to appoint a qualified individual from the general population to serve as mayor in accordance with the town’s charter.
“According to state code 8-5-10, until the qualification of an elected successor, [the vacancy] shall be filled by appointment by the governing body,” Martin said. “They would also have to check their charter or any ordinances to see if there is anything in addition.”
Hauger appears on the June 10 ballot, but there will be a new recorder as voters choose from Kambra Sisler or Robert “Bobby” Delauder. Bernard was running as an official write-in candidate for the recorder post.
