Mayor’s last day is Monday, Aug. 25

LACONIA — Mayor Andrew Hosmer said his final day in office will be Monday, Aug. 25, during a meeting of the city council on Monday night. 

His resignation will be effective at the end of the city council meeting scheduled for the same evening. Hosmer was hired by the City of Lebanon in Grafton County to serve as their city manager — he’s set to start in that role during the first week of September.

Councilors in Lebanon approved Hosmer’s hiring unanimously during a meeting in July. 

“This is the second-to-last meeting that I will be serving, last meeting will be on Monday the 25th for me,” Hosmer said. “I’m resigning at the end of that meeting, and it will be effective at the end of that meeting.”

According to city charter, vacancies in the offices of mayor or city council are to be filled within 30 days. The individual chosen to fill the mayor’s seat will remain in office through the end of the term, which expires at the end of 2025.

“We will begin advertising on Aug. 13,” City Manager Kirk Beattie said Monday night. “We’re going to run this in the same way that we do if we have a vacancy for a city council member, where we’ll be open to someone who’s registered as a voter in the city to be able to put their name in. That will begin on Wednesday, and will run until close-of-business Aug. 28.” 

The vacancy is to be filled by the election of “some qualified person” by the recorded votes of at least a majority of all members of the council at the next regular meeting, or at a special meeting called for the limited purpose of filling the vacancy within the required timeframe. 

Beattie told councilors the city would begin advertising for the position on Wednesday, two days after Hosmer made his announcement. 

Anyone interested in serving as the city’s interim mayor can fill out an application, which must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 28, to Beattie’s office or to the office of City Clerk Katie Gargano. Anyone interested in applying to be the interim mayor is required to be a registered voter in the city. 

Applications for the vacant position will be available at laconianh.gov, and in person at either the city manager’s office or the office of the clerk. Both of those offices are located at City Hall downtown.

A specially-called meeting of the Laconia City Council is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, with the only item on the agenda being interviews of candidates, and for the councilors to take a vote in selecting a new mayor. 

The new mayor will be sworn in and seated in the position before the Monday, Sept. 8, meeting of the Laconia City Council. 

Detailed information regarding the application process will be included in the job posting. Interested parties should direct their questions to either the office of the city manager or the city clerk by calling City Hall at 603-527-1270.