Red Bay employees receive raise in new budget
At Monday’s meeting of the Red Bay City Council, council members passed the proposed budget for the 2010 – 2011 fiscal year.
The budget, which is slightly larger than last year’s budget, includes supporting additional personnel at the Red Bay Police Department; contributions requests from agencies such as Safe Place, Rape Response and the Shoals Success Center; contract fees; and a new Park and Recreation Department director, who budget committee chair Charlene Fancher said was greatly needed.
“There are several departments that fall underneath the direction of the Park and Recreation Department and the organization has been very slack for the last several years,” Fancher said.
“The purpose of this department is to provide services to our youth, which is very important to the community, and director Joey Allen has already hit the ground running. We are looking forward to seeing what he will do as director.”
The budget also includes a pay raise for city employees, something the employees haven’t received since the fall of 2008.
“Everyone at the city worked so hard to stay within the budget last year and we just felt like this raise was long overdue,” Fancher said. “Since our budget is being passed later than usual, we will also issue a one-time coast of living adjustment to make up the difference in pay since Oct. 1 and we hope to get those checks out this week or next week.”
Fancher added that the budget committee made every effort to fulfill requests made by the city’s department heads but reminded everyone to be conservative with their funds.
“A budget’s merely a guide but it’s been proven – by the overwhelming numbers we had at the end of September – to be successful to have this guide in place.” Fancher said. “If we live within the budget, I expect the city to do just as well again this year.”
In other business, the council addressed the following issues:
• Police Chief Janna Jackson informed the council that Fred’s Hometown Discount Store donated $189.88 to the police department and that money will be used for new equipment.
• Park and Recreation Director Joey Allen informed the council that the remodeling of the baseball field will begin in the next several weeks.
• A representative from MetroCast informed to council that the process of tying in local channels to the cable provider is projected to be complete by mid-January to late February.
• The council approved fire grant equipment bids from the following companies: $57,557 for self-contained breathing apparatuses from NAFECO; $36,975 for a compressor and field station from MES; and $8,552 for a thermal imaging camera from Pro-Fire.
• The mayor informed the council that the city had received a new downtown revitalization planning grant for $32,000 that is funded through the Community Development Block Grant program.
• The city map preservation grant match for $2,848 was approved.
• RBPD patrol officers Charles Bradley Long and Jeremy Edgmon were placed on regular employee status.
• Karen Ozbirn was appointed to the Scope 310 board position to serve a five-year term expiring in November of 2015.
• Openings for two separate six-year terms on the Industrial Development Board will be posted at Red Bay City Hall until 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 20.
• A roadblock request for the Red Bay girls’ varsity softball team was approved.
• School expenditure requests were approved as follows: $150 for an ad in the Red Bay annual; $200 for a kindergarten field trip; $474 for a new projector and light bulb to be used by multiple organizations; $1,100 for wireless microphones requested by FFA but to be used for any organization; and $5,732 dollars for a new speaker system in the gymnasium to replace the old speaker system that no longer functions properly.
• The mayor announced that Melody Pearson was chosen as the Farmer’s Market Manager of the Year.
• The mayor also announced that a recycle bin ordered with money received through the Franklin County Development Commission from Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow has been placed near RBHS and citizens are encouraged to begin using it.
