By Dan Domsic
An ordinance going before the Fishers Town Council officially setting the first Fishers mayoral election is going to take more time as redistricting comes into play.
No matter what, the first Fishers mayoral election will come in May 2014, but an ordinance must set it. The new city council districts are also a must for the new district, which requires more time and work.
Town Manager Scott Fadness said he is putting together a timeline or process for redistricting and plans to share it with the public when it is ready.
Six district seats and three at-large candidates will comprise the future city council, meaning one current council member will lose his or her district come election time.
The staff’s overall role between now and when the first mayor comes into power appears to be minimal, according to Fadness.
“Surprisingly, there isn’t all that much to be done between now and when the mayor takes office,” Fadness said. “We’ll be proactive, but to a certain degree, we have to leave a lot of that to whoever comes into the office.”
He said staff will work toward figuring out what other costs the town will incur during the city transition for the 2014 budget.
In terms of how the transition will impact the other dealings of the town staff, Fadness said he and the department heads met after last year’s referenda to decide how to handle business as the transition approached.
“To that, and I think it all speaks to the character of the department heads, they all said let’s keep moving forward and let the chips fall where they fall,” Fadness said.
But that doesn’t mean that the staff won’t see turnover with the coming of Fishers’ first mayor.
“If there ever was a time – it would be tumultuous between now and when the new mayor comes in and the mayor takes office, (so) there’s always that possibility and that uncertainty,” Fadness said. “I’m not doom and gloom or trying to be dramatic about it, but I think we have to be realistic about what this could or could not mean for staff members.”