Harold Whitford during the city council’s June voting session. Whitford returned to the council in July to get an update on the constable situation.
JAMESTOWN – The call for Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi to appoint a third constable for the city was once again made during Monday night’s city council voting session.
Frewsburg Resident and city landlord Harold Whitford appeared before the city council to call on the mayor to nominate a new constable for the open position, so that the city council could act on the appointment.
Whitford and other landlords have been pressing Teresi to appoint a new constable because of the need to serve eviction notices to tenants in the city.
“Having to rely solely on the Sheriff’s Department would be an absolute nightmare for Jamestown. I don’t know how they could possibly handle 21, 36, 14 more eviction notices tomorrow in the city when they have only one deputy for the north county and one deputy for the south county. Ask the mayor to get this thing through, please,” Whitford said.
Whitford and several others, including long-time local attorney Charles Hall, informed the city council last month that a qualified resident – Dan Hill – had submitted an application to serve as constable months ago. Yet that application has not been acted on by mayor or put to the city council for a vote.
Following Monday’s meeting, Teresi explained that since the discussion about constables came forward, two other individuals have also submitted applications. He said his plan is to review and vet all applications and come forward with an update on the process during the council’s August 20 work session.
The city charter states that the mayor shall appoint three constables to serve within the city. Currently there are two people serving as constable with one vacancy.
Leave a Reply