Council tables budget until first October meeting
Published 6:24 pm Thursday, September 19, 2013
The Demopolis City Council delayed voting on the 2013-24 budget Thursday until its next meeting, which means a budget won’t be in place when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
The council will meet again on Thursday, Oct. 3.
All five councilmen approved putting off the vote for another two weeks as they review the budget. Mayor Mike Grayson voted against the additional time with an emphatic, “no.”
“I am disappointed that the budget wasn’t approved,” Grayson said after the meeting.
The city will continue to operate under the current budget until one is approved for 2014.
Grayson presented the council with the proposed budget during the council’s Sept. 5 meeting.
The proposed budget projects revenue of $9,672,100 and expenses of $9,639,954 for a difference of $32,146 to the good.
In other business, the council took the following actions:
•Attorney Bill Poole announced that two dilapidated houses, one on Second Avenue and the other on A Street, will soon be demolished. The house on A Street had asbestos that had to be removed but that work has now been completed, Poole said.
•Appointed Sylvia Malone as junior alternate on the Board of Adjustment.
•Had the first reading for an ordinance that will change how the city deals with issues like abandoned houses, overgrown lots and junk cars. A public hearing for the changes will be held in conjunction with the Oct. 17 meeting.
•Tabled a vote on changes to the city’s personnel manual until the next meeting. One of the sticking points discussed Thursday had to do with employee evaluations and how often they are given.
•Jim Stanford with the Demopolis High School Quarterback Club announced that the club will be sponsoring a circus at the SportPlex on Oct. 15. See future editions of The Times for more information.
•Voted to add street lighting at 1704 Estella Drive.
•Had an executive session to discuss a “financial matter.”
•Charles Jones Jr. announced he will be having a District 1 town hall meeting on Thursday, Sept. 26 at Rooster Hall at 5:15 p.m. Everyone is invited.