Councilman Phil Boyum announced again his intentions to resign from his District 1 City Council seat on social media.
"Since the word is out: I will be resigning my position as District 1 Councilmember in order to move closer to my parents full-time as they advance in years. I'll submit my resignation letter at the July 16th meeting, so the remaining council members have time to call for a special election in November. It's been an honor to serve the citizens of Statesboro for nearly 12 years and I am proud to leave the city in the best financial shape of the last two decades," posted Phil Boyum on his Councilman Phil Boyum Facebook page.
At the Tuesday, August 15, 2023 City Council meeting Boyum announced his intent to resign from the District 1 City Council Seat and made a motion to call a special election to have been placed on the November 7, 2023 municipal election.
However, Boyum never submitted his required letter of resignation and has continued to serve on Council. There was never a special election called.
At the August 23rd meeting Boyum stated that "I have been in this position for 11 years and It's just time. I am making a motion to call for a special election for District 1 on November 7th, to run concurrently with the regular election."
Residency questioned
At the last Statesboro City Council meeting, on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, during the public comments section, Statesboro resident Don Armel questioned Boyum's residency. Armel asked the council to address a concern that he had about the possibility that a vacancy exists among the council seats as defined by verbiage within the city charter, due to limitations on council members' place of residents.
Armel challenged the residency of District 1 Councilmen Phil Boyum. Armel believes that Mr. Boyum does not have a residence in Statesboro or District 1. Armel said that the East Main residence where he formally lived was vacated in 2023 and there is no verification or proof of residency of Council member Boyum in District 1 or even in the City limits of Statesboro. He asked the Council to investigate his legal residency as stated in the City Charter.
Special election
Cain Smith, Statesboro City Attorney, confirmed that he had received notification of Councilman Boyum's intent to resign on or before the next City Council meeting which will be on July 16, 2024.
Once he tenders his resignation in writing, in a document other than a social media post, the Council will then vote to accept his resignation. They also must vote to call a special election presumably which would be held on November 5, 2024. At that point, Leah Harden, City Clerk would proceed in setting qualification dates.
Grice Connect reached out to Councilman Boyum and at the time this story was published had not received a response.
