EAGLE, Idaho — During Tuesday's Dec. 12 Eagle City Council meeting, councilmembers approved two new ordinances. The new ordinances come one week after people in Eagle voted the current mayor, Jason Pierce, out of office.
With the changes passed, future mayors, like mayor-elect and current council president Brad Pike, will have to work with the council president to set the agenda for city council meetings instead of setting the agenda by themselves.
Other cities, like Boise, operate similarly. Former Eagle mayor, Nancy Merrill said having the mayor and council president work collaboratively is a good idea considering how divisive city politics have been lately.
Merrill said she is more concerned about the other ordinance councilmembers passed.
This ordinance allows them to appoint three positions — the economic development specialist, director of long-range planning and projects, and the public information officer.
Moving forward, mayor-elect Pike cannot remove the people who hold those positions when he takes office in January without council approval.
"I think this is one of those things where the new mayor should have the opportunity to hire and fire whomever he feels, or she feels is needed," Merrill said, "and this kind of ties their hands."
During the meeting, Pike raised issues and suspicions over the timing of the changes and said council was "out of line."
Pike said the new ordinances will lessen his mayoral power and claims it will make his job harder.
KTVB spoke with former attorney general Dave Leroy, who, after reviewing the documents, said these last-minute city code changes are bad practice.
"It's fairly irregular to be both appointing new personnel and minimizing the administrative authority of the mayor going forward after an election after the people have spoken and after a new incoming mayor should have the authority to designate those personnel appointments," he said.
There was no scheduled time for public comment Tuesday night. However, many community members showed up.
Following the meeting, Pierce told KTVB the ordinances help ensure future mayors put items on the agenda that councilmembers agree with and want to consider.
As the City of Eagle rings in the new year, Merrill said she just hopes her community can come together no matter who holds the title "mayor."
"It has been a hard, fought election," she said, "and I think we just need to put it all behind us."
Pike takes office on Jan. 9. He won the December runoff by more than 1,000 votes.
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