The Williams County Commission Tuesday discussed a timeframe for filling the vacancy on the commission created after last month's resignation of District 5 Commissioner Raymond Schmidt.

Schmidt's resignation, accepted by his colleagues "with deep regrets and honors" at their Oct. 6 meeting, took effect on Monday, leaving the vacancy.

His letter of resignation cited health reasons as the reason for stepping down, adding he felt it was the correct time to do so.

"What kind of a time frame are we considering? I understand we have a few individuals who have expressed interest," said Commission Chair Dan Kalil.

Kalil asked if the commission wanted to have a decision made after its Dec. 1 meeting. County Auditor Beth Innis said there was discussion at the Oct. 6 meeting about interviewing potential candidates for the spot and have him/her approved to be seated at the Dec. 1 meeting. Innis said four people have contacted her since Schmidt stepped down expressing interest in the position.

Kalil asked whether or not there should be a short time frame open for more people to submit applications.

After a brief discussion, the decision was made to take applications until Nov. 16.

From there, the interviewing process is to begin.

Commissioner David Montgomery expressed some surprise that four applications had been received.

"I didn't think we'd get even four," said Montgomery.

District 5 consists of all rural precincts, consisting of the eastern two-thirds of Williams County.

"It's the largest precinct, but it also has the least population," said Innis.

The process of filling a county commission vacancy is detailed in North Dakota Century Code, Chapter 44-02-05.

The remaining commissioners need to sit down with a district judge chosen by the commissioners to immediately appoint a suitable replacement from the district.

If a suitable person can't be found or a majority of commissioners can't agree on a replacement, the county treasurer, or if the county doesn't have an elected treasurer, another elected county official is brought in to act as a commission member.

The appointee would hold office until the next general election that occurs at least 60 days after the vacancy and the successor is found.