COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Tuesday night marked the last city council meeting for Coeur d'Alene Mayor Jim Hammond.
The mayor is resigning, and a successor has been named, but there's been a snag in the process.
That snag relates to who will take over Councilmember Woody McEvers' seat since he's taking over for the mayor position next month.
The meeting started with smiles but became tense when Hammond named his nomination, former Coeur d'Alene Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel to take over for McEvers' seat.
Three council members, Dan English, Dan Gookin and Christie Wood, disagreed with the process since it involves filling a council seat that isn't vacant just yet.
"I've been an elected official for 24 straight years, and what I've learned is the public likes to be involved, especially when it's an elected position," Wood said.
The council vote on the nomination came down to a tie. The nomination ultimately failed after Hammond abstained from being the tiebreaker, saying he didn't want to cause strife.
"It's too important of an issue, so the concerns need to be worked out between the new mayor and the council," Hammond said.
With no nominee, the city's attorney said it'll be up to the new mayor to make a nomination if he wants to. McEvers can do that at the next city council meeting in early September.
As for Hammond, the end of Tuesday night's meeting brought more smiles and one final pound of the gavel.
"I'm very appreciative to this community, because it is an honor to serve as their mayor," Hammond said.
Hammond's last day is August 31.