Red Bay council urges passage of amendment

At Monday’s meeting of the Red Bay City Council, council members adopted a resolution urging Alabama residents to vote for the proposed constitutional Amendment 1 that will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.

According to a message from the Alabama League of Municipalities sent to the mayor and the council, the amendment “corrects a technical problem that could result in cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, hospitals and other local agencies paying an increased portion of the operating costs of assessing and collecting ad valorem taxes.”

The problem is found within the wording of Alabama Constitutional Amendment 778, approved by voters in 2006. 

The Red Bay resolution states that Amendment 778 provides for at least 10 mils of ad valorem taxes in each school district but could also unintentionally result in the redistributing of the costs of assessing and collecting ad valorem taxes in the individual counties.

To make sure the technical wording is changed, the council unanimously voted to adopt Resolution 10-10-25, which states the purpose of the proposed amendment and urges all Alabama voters to support Amendment 1 on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.

In other business, the council addressed the following issues:

• Cindy Emerson was hired as a part-time dispatcher at Red Bay Police Department.

• The vacancy on the Scope 310 board will be posted until Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. before the council appoints someone to fill the position.

• The vacancy on the Red Bay Water and Gas board will be posted until Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. before the council appoints someone to fill the position.

• The vacancy on Senior Citizen board will be posted until Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. before the council appoints someone to fill the position.

• The mayor reminded everyone about the importance of voting during the Nov. 2 general election and he also reminded everyone that city and state ordinances require all dogs to be vaccinated.

• Halloween will be observed Saturday, Oct. 30. The mayor urged parents to go over safety measures with their children.

• Due to the dry weather, the city’s leaf machine will be up and running just as soon as the machine is repaired.

• Due to the Veteran’s Day holiday, garbage on Thursday, Nov. 11 will be picked up on Friday, Nov. 12.

• Youth basketball sign-up will take place at the new gym on Thursday, Oct. 28 from 5 – 7 p.m.