COLONY, Ala. – The Colony Town Council on Tuesday evening passed its 2020 budget, retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year in October. The $144,000 budget includes a $1 per hour raise for Town employees Patricia Ponder and Ronny Barfield, also backdated to Oct. 1 on a separate motion. Both the budget and retroactive raise were approved by the council with Councilman Curtis Johnson the sole “no” vote on both.
Councilman Melvin Hammond, who drew up the budget, also requested an appropriation to send Councilwoman Ethel Alexander to a grant-writing course in December, noting that the Town may have missed out on grant opportunities by not having anyone capable of writing the applications. The council concurred, approving the request with Johnson again voting “no.”
A debate ensued when Town Clerk Ponder presented Mayor Donnis Leeth a sealed envelope containing payment for rental of the Educational Complex multi-use room from an unknown party. The party had rented the facility through Johnson with no contract for use during a time when another party had already signed a contract and paid the deposit and rent. According to Ponder, the contracted party was upset and claiming that she had been “thrown out” by Johnson. The clerk also noted the insurance liability issues that could arise by a second, uncontracted party using the facility during time allotted to a contracted party.
Johnson responded that the amount of time used by the contracted party, including setup and takedown, far exceeded the 24 hours allowed under the contract. Hammond countered that the Town’s rental policy did not specify 24 hours, and both Ponder and Alexander noted that the Town has historically been generous in allowing setup and takedown time. Johnson told the council that he and his wife would write a new policy, an offer to which the council did not respond.
Leeth said that it was not fair for a contracted party to be asked to give up the facility early, and stated that, in the future, “It’s not going to happen, because it never happened before, and it’s not going to happen as long as I’m the mayor.”
Johnson’s, Brenda Johnson, who regularly attends council meetings, took the floor during the public comment portion of the agenda to argue that the contracted party had agreed beforehand to leave early and let the second party in. She accused Leeth and the council of treating her husband unfairly.
The issue was not formally resolved.
The Colony Town Council holds work sessions at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at Colony Town Hall, with regular council meetings immediately following. The public is invited to attend.
Copyright 2019 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
