The State College Borough Council will officially appoint the town’s next mayor at its Monday meeting after months of procedural debate. Council will nominate up to seven of the 11 candidates eligible for selection, and will vote on each nominee.

The new mayor will replace Don Hahn, whose resignation will be made official at 5 p.m. today, December 16. Hahn was elected magisterial district judge of District 49-1-01 last month.

Council President Evan Myers outlined the official selection procedure at last week’s voting meeting. Council members’ names will be drawn in a random order at the beginning of Monday’s voting procedure. Each council member will nominate one of the eleven candidates in this random order. If their chosen candidate has already been nominated, the Council member can pass or nominate another.

Council will then vote on each candidate one by one in the order in which the nominations were made. The first candidate to secure a simple majority of Council votes (4) will automatically become mayor. If the first candidate to be nominated garners a majority vote, voting ends, and that candidate becomes mayor.

Council members recognized that the process of appointing an interim mayor lacked direct voter input, but stressed the importance of following the Borough’s home rule charter.

“I think this council is unanimous in that we would rather have a special election,” Myers said last week.

Council’s Monday agenda is full — in addition to selecting the town’s next mayor, it will also vote on a controversial proposal to temporarily turn Allen Street into a summer pedestrian plaza.

The meeting will begin, as usual, at 7 p.m. in room 304 of the State College Municipal Building.