BEND, OR -- Bend voters chose a new City Councilor and its first directly-elected Mayor in 90 years on Tuesday, but those aren’t the only changes in the works. As Mayor-Elect, Councilor Sally Russell will shift from Position Three to Position Seven, and City Manager Eric King says that creates a vacancy that must be filled, "Her seat didn’t term out until 2020, so that creates a vacancy on Council and that gives Council an opportunity to appoint that position." He tells KBND News, "Per the city’s charter, which is like our Constitution for how we’re governed, Council has 30 days to fill a vacant position, once it’s declared. So, the 30-day clock will start ticking January second, when that seat officially becomes vacant." King says Council will soon start accepting applications to fill that seat.

He says the switch to a directly-elected Mayor doesn’t change the overall structure of government, nor his job as City Manager. "And, I still take policy direction – and it’s from a majority of Councilors - So, no individual Councilor or the Mayor has more power than the other."

What does change is Council's compensation. Voters approved a higher pay scale, along with the approval of a directly elected Mayor, in May. Mayor-Elect Russell, Councilor-elect Gena Goodman-Campbell and re-elected Councilor Barb Campbell will earn more than Councilors Bruce Abernethy, Justin Livingston and Bill Moseley, "The current Councilors will continue to make the $200 a month," says King. "The new Councilors that were just elected will receive about $500 a month. And then, the Mayor will receive about $1,000 a month." The person appointed to fill Russell’s Council seat will also receive $500. The other three would receive the higher rate once they're re-elected. 

Pictured (L-R): Current City Councilors Sally Russell, Justin Livingston, Casey Roats, Bruce Abernethy, Barb Campbell, Nathan Boddie, Bill Moseley.