BY SARAH STEPHENS, OWNER/EDITOR ELMORE AUTAUGA NEWS
An ordinance passed by the Wetumpka City Council Feb. 3 to raise the pay for the mayor and council members was voted on without proper procedure, according to city officials. The ordinance was called 2020-1 compensation for Council members and Mayor.
The discovery of the improper vote prompted an emergency council meeting Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Administration Building.
At that meeting, council members present voted to add an addendum to the minutes from the Feb. 3 meeting to show the vote was done improperly.
On Feb. 3 the council voted 3-2 in favor of passing the raises. Mayor Willis did not vote on the item at that time.
“There was not a majority of the whole in the vote that was taken. Six votes is a whole so it would have taken four votes to pass that ordinance. You as a council passed it 3-2 which was a majority, but not a whole. So, that will stand to be corrected and is null and void, that ordinance that we passed,” Mayor Jerry Willis said.
In that earlier vote, three council members voted to raise the mayor’s salary from the current $25,000 per year to $45,000 per year. They also approved raising council members’ salaries to $10,800. Voting in favor on Feb. 3 were Kevin Robbins, Lynnes S. Justiss and Steve Gant. Voting against were Lewis Washington and Greg Jones.
The increased salaries would have taken place in November, however for now, it is a dead issue, and salaries will remain as they were prior to the Feb. 3 vote.
Councilman Washington was not present at Tuesday’s meeting, as he had a prior engagement. He is the one who argued that the vote was improper, which prompted the meeting Tuesday.
“There is a conflict in the law,” Mayor Willis said. “It is in two different places. The first thing you were taught is that in a vote (like this one) for the size of our city, the mayor does not have to vote. The mayor votes only in case of a tie. Then there is another place in the law that says in this ordinance that it takes four votes out of six. So, it is very conflicting and I think the League of Municipalities needs to take a look at that and clean up the way they teach this to us.”
A motion was made to add the addendum and it passed unanimously.
Code of Alabama 1975 section 11-45-2: “In all towns and cities with less than 12,000 population an affirmative vote of the whole number of members of the council to which the corporation is entitled, including the mayor, shall be required to enact any ordinance or resolution intended to be of a permanent operation.”
So, basically, the raised failed to pass and is a dead issue for now. It could be brought to another vote when the next mayor and council takes over. That vote could be made up until March of the last year they are in office for their term.
In other business, the council voted to approve a Carmichael Engineering, Inc., proposal for construction, material testing and monitoring services at the new Athletic Complex at a cost of $27,500.
They also voted unanimously to allow permission to install internet service to the Athletic Complex at a cost of $7,863.09. It was also noted that Spectrum is providing a check or $8,000 towards the total cost.
“This is something that we are going to have to have, no question about it,” Mayor Willis said. “The technology that comes with all of this, particularly with the track part of it and scoreboard and all of this is coming. It is a unique piece of equipment and we have to have the fiber in place.”
Mayor Willis said that work on the new facility is moving forward, but he would like to see dryer weather.
“They have moved a lot of dirt and still think they can make it on time. Blocks are coming up on VIP building and concession stands on both sides. It won’t be long before they are pouring the footings for the locker room on the south end. Everything is underway,” Willis said.
As for the new Police Department in the former Wells Fargo Bank Building, some employees have already started moving in. An Open House will be announced in the coming days for the facility. The former police department was destroyed last year during the tornado. Since that time, the department has operated on the second floor of the Administration Building.
“As soon as we can get everything in, we will be announcing that Open House,” Willis said. “We are changing out the Wells Fargo sign as we speak and will be putting up the Wetumpka Police Department sign.”
He said there were some minor problems with dirt against the building and that is being addressed. The city is also going to redo the sprinkler system that was in place.
“We have made a lot of headway with the route we took. Employees already working for the city have proven to be very effective and has saved us a ton of money in this construction process. Pinnacle was down there today to hook up the WIFI,” Willis said. “It is all coming together and I think it will be really nice and everyone will really appreciate it. Some of the furnishings for it, I was able to work with the state and get a conference table, 14 foot with chairs and everything. It works well for what we are doing. Everyone is excited. Right now the only thing that is still in the Admin Building is day to day patrol. Investigations is pretty well moved. Administration has pretty well moved. Hopefully in the next few days they will be able to do all of this. There are some finishing touches that have to be done but we will work through that. It will be a wonderful location and citizens seem to like it.”
Once that is done, Willis said the city will sit down and look to rebuilding for the senior citizens meeting center and moving that project along as well.
More than a year now after the devastating EF-2 tornado brought heavy damage to the historic downtown area, progress is continuing. Construction continues on the First Presbyterian Church. The church, construction in 1836, was lost to the storm but the congregation approved rebuilding.
Just across the street at First Baptist Church, discussions are still ongoing concerning the future of the historic, original sanctuary. A committee suggested recently to tear the facility down due to heavy damage from the tornado. Since the storm, a temporary tarp has been in place to protect the interior. However, mold has invaded the facility. The sanctuary is listed on the Historic Registry, but that would not keep the congregation from being able to have it razed.
There were discussions prior to the storm concerning the historic structure, with some of the congregation saying that area could be better used for a modern facility. Once the storm did so much damage to the roof, a committee was formed to make a recommendation for the building’s future. That committee presented its findings last week that it would be more cost effective to raze the building.
However, since that time pleas from historical agencies and community members, as well as offers of possible financial help, have come forward. A vote this week allows for more discussion, and a final decision has not been announced.
