On Monday, a new member could be sworn in to the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners.

At a work session Wednesday, board members discussed a tentative agenda for their Monday meeting that included the appointment and swearing in of a commissioner to fill the vacancy left by James Rutledge, who resigned in October. Town Clerk Michael Kranz said the agenda would not be finalized until later in the week.

The commissioners meeting will be at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. A final agenda will be available online no later than 24 hours before the meeting.

The appointed commissioner will serve the remainder of Rutledge’s four-year term, which ends in 2027. According to the town’s code, commissioners earn $4,800 per year.

This appointment will be made separately from the town’s election last month, in which three candidates ran for two open commissioner seats. Mayor Paula Etting and Gavin Hanley won the seats. Etting earned a second term, while Hanley will serve his first.

The town sought candidates to fill the vacancy through an application process. The application was open for 30 days, and qualified applicants needed to be resident of Bel Air for at least six months before applying and be registered to vote in Maryland, Harford County and Bel Air.

During his time in office, Rutledge pushed for short-term rental legislation and a historic preservation tax credit for property owners. Etting said in October that Rutledge, who is a full-time attorney in Bel Air, was the sole practitioner of his law firm and resigned due to there “not being enough hours in the day.”

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