The St. Francis City Council has scheduled a special election for Dec. 16 to settle the recall campaign against Council Member LeRoy Schaffer.

The motion passed on a 4-0 vote on Monday. Schaffer did not vote, nor did he abstain. One resident at the meeting spoke in support of Schaffer. Another sought his resignation to save the city the cost of the special election. Schaffer said he intends to fight the recall.

Monday's action only set the date. Once the recall petition came in, the council was bound to abide by it.

Partly because of a misunderstanding of language in the city charter, the group of residents seeking the recall did not reach their goal to get the question on the ballot for the general election, but they did garner the required 741 signatures they needed by Sept. 18 to set a special election.

City Clerk Barb Held said she did not know how much the special election might cost, since it's the first election of its kind the city. The Minnesota Secretary of State's office said that the cost of a recall depends on each city's charter requirements.

St. Francis Mayor Randy Dressen said cost is an issue.

"I am concerned this will cost the city money, but on the other hand, his continued behavior is costing the city money as well," Dressen said, citing investigations the city has undertaken into a sexual harassment complaint against Schaffer last year and into an incident involving a crew of Spanish-speaking roofers in June. "Yes, we have some cost now, but if the recall is successful, that eliminates an issue we've been facing and numerous expenses we've been facing."

In the first case, Schaffer was censured by the council after an investigation found that he had made inappropriate comments to a woman at a public function. In the second, Schaffer called police when he came upon a crew of Spanish-speaking roofers, believing their immigration papers should be checked. The council took no action against him in that case.

Dressen wondered whether people will show up to vote.

"On Dec. 16 you're approaching the holiday, people are busy and have things on their minds," he said. "The last thing they have on their mind is the election."

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409