Brookneal Town Council member Phillip Sheppard
The announcement that Brookneal Town Council member Phillip Sheppard, two years into a four-year term, had resigned effective July 1 due to obtaining a permanent job with Campbell County
congenr created quite a stir during last Tuesday's monthly meeting. Members had a variety of ideas about the best course of action to fill the empty seat.
Mayor Phyllis Campbell thanked Sheppard for his commitment to public office and explained how he hated to leave council, but decided it was in the best interests of his family to resign. Sheppard had been missing from council meetings since January while waiting to find out if he would get a fulltime job.
She further explained that her quest to find out the proper way to handle the empty seat sent her from the county registrar to the state regulator to the county attorney who told her to call the Brookneal town attorney, Frank Wright. "He said we had 45 days to fill the seat and recommended advertising the seat in The Union Star so we could find someone to serve the remainder of the term. Council could interview candidates or have a list of questions for each to fill out," she said.
According to state code, the council is to appoint someone to fill the
congenr empty seat by the end of August. If the council doesn't, the circuit court can appoint an interim. The replacement is to serve until a special election allows voters to select a replacement.
