GARDEN CITY, Ala. – The Garden City Town Council at its January meeting tackled salaries for the next mayor and council, the numbering of council places, setting the qualification fees for the upcoming election and the new insurance plan offered by the Alabama League of Municipalities endorsed program, the Alabama First Responders Benefits Program, a plan Garden City Volunteer Fire Department Chief James Johnson brought forward at the council’s November 2019 meeting.
The council voted to set the new salary for the office of mayor at $9,840, $820 monthly, with council members receiving $1,440 annually, $120 monthly. The pay rates take effect Nov. 2, 2020.
The council then adopted an ordinance numbering council seats: Place Number 1, Place Number 2, Place Number 3, Place Number 4 and Place Number 5.
Qualification fees for future elections were set at $50 for the office of mayor and $25 for town council seats.
The council voted to obtain the Alabama First Responders Benefits Program for Garden City firefighters.
“It’s a well-known fact that certain types of cancer are a health risk for firefighters, and with a cancer diagnosis comes major costs,” reads www.alfrpb.com. “Thanks to the new law, ACT 2019-361, Firefighters throughout the State of Alabama are now entitled to an enhanced cancer and disability coverage program provided by their municipality, county, public entity, or fire district, for both Career Paid and Volunteer Firefighters. This program provides multiple options for both Career and Volunteer Firefighters. The Alabama First Responders Benefits Program provides a way to help protect our Firefighters and their families with this program.”
The insurance covers cancers including bladder, blood, brain, breast, cervical, esophageal, intestinal, kidney, lymphatic, lung, prostate, rectum, respiratory tract, skin, testicular and thyroid. It will also cover leukemia, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. There are two plans: the Basic Plan, which covers long-term disability (LTD) and the 21 cancers required by law, or the Enhanced Plan, which covers LTD and all known cancers. For the Town, option one would cost $1,155.84; option two would cost $1,249.92. The council voted to go with option two.
In other business, the council tabled a discussion on obtaining a grant from Cullman-Jefferson Counties Gas District. The amount Garden City can obtain from the grant is $303.90.
The council voted to move its next meeting to Feb. 10, 2020 at 6 p.m. at Garden City Town Hall.
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