Addie McCluskey
Elmore Autauga News
Prattville City Council postponed a vote, Dec. 16, 2025, to authorize the mayor to sign a contract for services with Autauga Prattville Public Library (APPL), following concerns about the contract’s wording and scope.
Mayor Bill Gillespie said portions of the proposed contract appeared to give the city too much control over the library’s operations.
“One of my biggest concerns is that, in part of the contract as I have seen it… I think we have a little bit of overreach on this because we’re mandating the library’s days and hours,” said Gillespie. “We’re now trying to act as the board of directors for the library by mandating what days they will be open and closed.”
The contract for services proposed by the council would be a legally binding agreement in which APPL would have to disclose its expenditures and financials and maintain a standard of quality, timing, and costs for its specific services as determined in the contract.
“I do have some concerns as well,” said District 3 Councilman Josh Chambers. “You know, the word ‘controls’ has been used quite a bit.”
District 2 Councilman Marcus Jackson said that the council has not traditionally been involved in service contracts, notating that the last record he found of a contract for services with the library was in 1992.
“I’ve been on the council for nine years, and I don’t recall us ever having a say or input,” said Jackson. “I don’t necessarily think we are trying to target anyone… all of this is new and foreign, and I think it’s been a good thing because all of us have been allowed to have a voice in this.”
Council members agreed that contracts for services are a sound financial practice because they promote transparency and accountability in the use of taxpayer funds.
“That’s our job here, to make sure that any money we are collecting and sending somewhere, we know where it’s going and dictate how it’s being spent to some degree,” said District 1 Councilor Wade Newman. “There’s not a one-size-fits-all for contracts of services either, so we have to flex it as it fits the entity we’re dealing with.”
The council emphasized that the intent is not to micromanage the library or single it out, clarifying that the contract needs to be fine-tuned to ensure it reads as such.
“I would like to make a motion to table this because obviously there are a lot of things going on,” said District 4 Councilor Tommy Merrick. “If we are going to do it, we’re going to do it right.”
The motion to postpone the contract of services resolution with APPL until Jan. 20, 2025, was unanimously approved.
In closing the discussion, Chambers encouraged residents to contact their district council members with any concerns before the resolution returns to the council.
Watch the live recording of the meeting at https://www.youtube.com/watch.
