GARFIELD -- Among the myriad of decisions made during last week's regular meeting, Garfield council members approved a proposed 2018 budget, elected a recorder-treasurer, established a separate water clerk position, hired a city attorney, and altered the speaker sign-in protocol.
Mayor Gary Blackburn explained, going forward, the sign-up sheet for guest speakers at council meetings will be collected at 5:50 p.m. -- 10 minutes prior to commencement. Speakers will be required to indicate their name, the date, and the agenda item they would like to speak on.
Alderman Katherine Shook questioned this measure, referring to a recent, failed revision to Ordinance 129. She said the revision limited the freedom of public speech at meetings and, as a result, did not pass.
Shook asked Blackburn if the new protocol would allow the mayor to limit agenda items without council approval.
Blackburn countered that it would limit free-reign speech on agenda items but not without council approval.
Council members unanimously voted to adopt an ordinance appointing a recorder-treasurer to fill the recently vacated position and outlining associated responsibilities. The recorder-treasurer is an elected position, and throughout the history of Garfield, water clerk duties have been assigned to the individual holding the aforementioned title.
"By passing this, we've removed water clerk duties from the recorder-treasurer and effectively split the two positions," said Blackburn.
Members voted to adopt an ordinance outlining the duties of city water clerk and advertise the position.
The council then moved to executive session to discuss appointing a city attorney and review recorder-treasurer resumes.
Members reconvened and voted to re-appoint Michael Bearden as city attorney.
After interviewing two candidates, members voted to elect Teresa Vining as the recorder-treasurer.
Vining has been serving as the mayor's assistant while simultaneously overseeing duties of the water clerk and recorder-treasurer.
"I've fallen in love with the job and the people here," said Vining.
Alderman Shook inquired about scheduling a work meeting to review the proposed 2018 budget and reconcile negative figures.
Mayor Blackburn said it's council members' general duty to budget balance throughout the year thus he doesn't believe an extra meeting to be worth the expense. He also said balance issues were resolved and any remaining will be rectified in January.
After discussion, Aldermen Shook and Barry Kitterman agreed they would like to speak with recorder-treasurer Vining to address their remaining questions.
Mayor Blackburn suggested the council adopt the proposed budget as is and make any necessary alterations as they appear. He noted future budget changes will require motion by an alderman and majority vote of the council.
"But it's a living document, it can be changed at any time," he said.
Self-proclaimed "city bean counter" Shook motioned to delay adoption of the budget, citing insufficient time to review the budget as cause. Shook said she was given the budget a week prior, on Dec. 5, while she was on vacation.
"It's my job to be a good steward of city money," she said. "But I only had 24 real hours to look over this."
Her motion failed due to lack of a second.
Members discussed the possible purchase of a three-quarter-ton truck in the coming year. There is $42,000 set aside in the proposed budget to purchase a replacement for the city's current half-ton truck. Blackburn said the truck needs constant maintenance and is not safe to operate on a regular basis.
The council voted to adopt the proposed budget. Shook voted against the measure.
In other business:
• Garfield received a FEMA check in the amount of $8,633.68 to reimburse a portion of debris removal costs.
• The council voted to annex the rights-of-way in Ashmore subdivision. The city is now responsible for maintenance of the streets in the subdivision, as city budget allows. Ashmore was previously excluded by request of the Property Owner's Association.
General News on 12/20/2017