William "Bill" Taylor did not seek re-election last fall for a third term as mayor of Harlem. Taylor served as mayor for eight years and was on the city council for two years before his stint as mayor. He said, "One part of me said, 'run again' and another part said 'you'll be 81 years old at the end of a third term.'" City council member Kim Hansen filed for the mayor's slot. No one else filed and an election wasn't necessary to fill the mayor's post.

Taylor shared a bit of history about how he became mayor. He said, "An elected member of the city council moved and vacated a seat on the council. I was appointed, in April, to fill the council seat. That same summer the mayor moved and I suggested the council appoint local banker Jeremy Kinyon to fill the mayor's unexpired term." Kinyon opted not to run for a new term as mayor. Taylor said, "Well, I figured somebody had to do it so I did it. I ran for mayor and won. Four years later I ran again."

Taylor described his time as mayor as a good experience. He added, "There are some people who like to hold elected officials' feet to the fire. I'm okay with that but folks need to realize that can be painful. Holding officials accountable in a compassionate way was most appreciated." Taylor said during his time as mayor, "I worked with some really wonderful people, all the way from the federal level to our own city council. Harlem has a wonderful city council and a great crew of city employees." He also noted, "As a former teacher and school administrator I had experience in public administration. The skills I gained in education were useful serving as mayor."

Asked about what he considered a significant accomplishment while he was mayor, he didn't have to think long to respond. "Definitely getting the new wastewater treatment system in place," he said. He explained that federal and state laws about discharging treated wastewater into Milk River were becoming more stringent, to the point of making it harder and harder to get a permit for the treatment facility. Taylor said, "We were facing stricter regulations about discharging into the river and our existing treatment facility was old and needed upgraded." What resulted was an innovative treatment facility that disperses treated wastewater through a pivot irrigation system.

The $4.8 million wastewater treatment project took two years to complete. A lagoon, large enough to hold a year's worth of wastewater, was completed south of town. During irrigation season the treated water will be dispersed through a pivot irrigation system. Taylor said, "The new system is in use but we will have to wait until summer when irrigation begins to totally evaluate how the system is performing." He added, "We upgraded our plant, came up with a way to avoid discharging into the river and have a treatment system that should be good for the next 40 years."

Of the new wastewater treatment system, Harlem's Public Works Director Richard Mohar said, "We're also replaced two outdated lift stations in town as part of the project. This will solve a lot of operational and maintenance issues we had with the old lift equipment." Mohar said the lagoon had the capacity to hold more than a year's worth of wastewater that could be generated by the city.

Kim Hansen will take office as mayor at the January 8, 2018 council meeting. Plans are to have an appointee sworn in at that meeting to will fill the council seat vacated by Hansen. Other current Harlem City Council members include Ralph Schneider, Eva English and Marc Arensmeyer.

The "Journal" thanks former Harlem Mayor William "Bill" Taylor for his service to his community and town.