STURGIS – The Sturgis City Council will take applications to fill the vacant mayor’s position following the resignation of Mayor Mark Carstensen on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

At a special meeting Wednesday, Feb. 14, the council voted unanimously to allow any resident to submit an application, cover letter and resume to be considered for the position of mayor. The deadline to accept applications will be 5 p.m., Thursday, Feb 29. Those interested can find the application here on the city’s website.

Those who apply must be residents of the city of Sturgis. Current council members can also apply, but they will not have to fill out the application or provide a resume or cover letter. All applicants, including the council members, will go through a public interview process at the council’s meeting on March 4. 

The council hopes to make a decision on the appointment at its March 4 meeting. 

Under the laws of South Dakota, when a mayor resigns, the City Council President steps into the role of mayor. In this case, the Sturgis City Council President is Beka Zerbst. Zerbst presided over the meeting Wednesday and will serve as the interim mayor until a new mayor has been chosen to fill out the remainder of the term of Carstensen which expires in May of 2025.

Some at the meeting Wednesday questioned why the election of the mayor could not be put on the ballot for the April 9 Sturgis municipal election.

As confirmed by the South Dakota Secretary of State, state law governs filing a vacancy in the office of the Mayor, said Sturgis City Attorney Mark Marshall.

Marshall said: “If there is a vacancy from any cause in the office of the mayor, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by a majority vote of the aldermen, as soon as practicable after the vacancy occurs, to serve until the office is filled by election for the unexpired term at the next annual municipal election or by special election as provided in § 9-13-14.2.”

To complicate matters, by South Dakota state law, the city must have an ordinance in place to allow for a special election to fill the mayor’s post. It does not. 

Here is what the state law says about holding a special election: “The governing body of any municipality may, by ordinance enacted prior to the vacancy, require that any vacancy on the governing body or in the office of the mayor is to be filled by a special election called for that purpose to be conducted as provided in § 9-13-14 and this section… No special election may be held less than ninety days before the annual municipal election.”

The next annual municipal election is April 9. The city had already published the vacancies for the city council in January for the April 9 election as required by law. It also included a time period for when those wishing to run could circulate petitions.   But, the mayor’s position was not among those noticed. At this point there is not enough time to meet the statutory requirements to have the mayor’s position on the ballot.

The next annual municipal election is the 2025 election. That is the time when the mayor’s term would have expired had he served the full term.

At the meeting Wednesday, Councilor Aaron Jordan said candidates should be aware of the potential change in the city's governance structure which could come after a new interim mayor is appointed. 

The Sturgis City Council plans to discuss at its Tuesday, Feb. 20, meeting placing on the April 9 ballot the question of whether or not the municipality of Sturgis should be changed from the current form of municipal government (aldermanic with a city manager form of government) to an aldermanic form of government without a city manager.

City staff contacted the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office last week following the Supreme Court decision concerning the city manager issue, and determined there is no scheduling or timeline issues that would prohibit the city from placing it on the ballot for the already scheduled April 9 election.