HOLLY POND, Ala. – The Holly Pond Town Council on Monday evening suspended the regular rules of procedure to approve its first readings of two ordinances governing election policies. In unanimous votes, the council set the mayoral candidate qualification fee at $10, with a clause allowing for candidates who cannot afford the fee, and set the positions for which council candidates run as places one through five instead of “at-large” seats.
When the issue of pay came up, though, the votes changed. An ordinance that would have raised the mayor’s salary to $400 per month and the council members’ salaries to $200 per month (an approximately 33% raise) starting with the new session in November was tabled after its first reading when the council vote to suspend the rules split 3-2. The ordinance will still be considered, but it will have to wait until its second reading scheduled for next month’s meeting.
The council also voted to proclaim January 2020 Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Holly Pond. With the proclamation, the Town committed itself to “ensure that all of our residents are aware of this problem and how to spot it. We must work together as a community so that human traffickers are punished and to protect and assist their victims.”
The proclamation continued, “We ask all residents of this community to join us in raising visibility of this crime whose victims are all too often invisible. Together, we can become more informed about this pressing issue and work to combat its injustices.”
The council also passed a motion to make Warren Strickland, who was hired as a temporary full-time employee to assist with maintenance around town, a permanent full-time employee at a pay rate matching that of other employees.
In other council business:
- Mayor Bill Oliver shared that the Town’s fiscal year 2018 audit came back clean, with only one minor bookkeeping error.
- Oliver noted that Holly Pond’s storm shelter, which was found to be leaking after recent rains, was repaired Monday.
- The mayor and multiple council members noted the success of 2019’s Cards in the Park, with a larger number of participants and decorations. Oliver commended inmate and county work crews for their efforts.
The Holly Pond Town Council meets at 7 p.m. on the first Monday evening of each month at the Guy Hunt Library. The public is invited to attend.
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