Kimball mayor John Morrison has been notified by the Kimball County Clerk and Recorder's Office that a citizen a requested a recall petition filing form with hopes of removing the mayor from office.

Ronald C. Buchart of Kimball has initiated the recall proceedings. He lists five reasons the mayor should be replaced before his term ends in December of 2026. Buchart lists concerns with the tax levy, potential conflicts of interest, the time it took the mayor to replace a resigning city council member, the mayors treatment of concerned citizens and failure to represent the needs of the people of the City of Kimball as his reasons for the petition.

Morrison has been given 20 days to respond to the petition before the clerks office will prepare the petitions. Then Buchart will have 20 days to collect the petitions at which time he will be given 30 days to collect  280 signatures from registered voters who are citizens of the City of Kimball. Should the signatures be collected in time and the clerk's office can verify them, the city office will be instructed to schedule a recall election.

In a potential recall election that would be held early next year, citizens of Kimball would be asked, "Shall John Morrison be removed from the office of Mayor?" If the majority of voters respond in the negative or the vote is tied, Morrison would remain in office. No other recall efforts against him can be made for at least 12 months.

If the majority of voters respond that the mayor should be removed, Morrison will leave office as soon as the election is certified. The city would then be responsible for filling the vacated office in accordance with state statutes.

Morrison will be on 104.3 KIMB Thursday, October 31st at 8:00 am to publicly respond to the claims made in Buchart's request. News Channel Nebraska has reached out to Buchart for comment as well.

 

This is a developing story. Stay with News Channel Nebraska for the latest.