BELLE— Belle Board of Aldermen, under the direction of Mayor Pro-tem Jeanette Struemph, met Thursday at noon to accept the resignation of former mayor Steve Vogt. The board later unexpectedly accepted the resignation of city treasurer Theresa Taylor — effective immediately.

During the meeting, Struemph read from Vogt’s letter, dated Tuesday, May 25: “To the Belle City Council and Citizens of Belle,

It is with a heavy heart that I must resign my position of Mayor of Belle for personal reasons. It has been one of the great honors of my life to serve this great city and its citizens for over 30 years. I had many things yet to accomplish but it is not to be. I think I have left Belle better than I found it. The city has accomplished a lot and will be even better in the future. This will be effective by the end of business Wed., May 26, 2021.

“Respectfully, Steve F. Vogt.”

Struemph asked the board if they had any discussion. Alderman Josh Seaver shook his head while others looked around.

“I regret it has come to this, but it is his decision,” Struemph said to no one in particular.

She asked the board for a nomination (SIC) to accept Vogt’s resignation. Seaver made the motion and Alderman Sundi Jo Graham seconded after a small pause. Alderman Ken Stanfield was the last one to vote, “Aye — with a heavy heart,” he said.

Struemph said after the meeting that the board was informed by Vogt that he wanted to retire.

“We had a meeting this morning to accept his resignation,” she said. “We know Steve’s health is not as good as it should be. I don’t know if that reflected. It is kind of sad. It was his decision.”

The board went into closed session to discuss personnel, during which time they asked Theresa Taylor, city treasure, to be present. When they went back into open session, aldermen went to city hall to collect information.

“Later we went back to the office and Theresa (Taylor, city treasurer) had resigned.”

Taylor was not expected to resign according to Struemph and other city employees. Since the board was still gathered, Struemph said they accepted the resignation on the spot and will now be able to move forward to fill the position.

“She left a letter of resignation, “To the Belle City Council, effective May 27, 2021, I resign as treasurer. Theresa Taylor.”

Taylor also left her keys. Her resignation was accepted with a 3-0 vote.

The board currently has no plans to appoint a new mayor or replace Struemph as alderman.

“We have a quorum with the three aldermen we have,” Struemph said. “In our dealings with the marshal, we know that we don’t have to replace anyone just yet. We are going to focus on going forward and running a regular election.”