VINEMONT, Ala. – The Vinemont Town Council on Tuesday night passed its 2019-2020 budget. The $516,770.72 budget has a built-in buffer of just less than $15,000.
Mayor Radginal Dodson said the council studied past years’ budgets while compiling the new one, explaining, “We’ve gone far back and most all of them have been increased just a little bit, somewhere between 5-10%, with (some) expectations. Everything is going to start costing more anyway, so we might as well at least include that in the budget.”
He continued, “There’s a buffer built into it for whatever happens so (if) it’s not down, tied, true, (there’s) no deviation. It’s built into it where we can give and take.”
The council reported the Town’s cash reserve as $360,660.
The council approved a payment of $18,699 to Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation. The amount will be paid in three installments of $6,233 each.
An ordinance was passed to rent an electronic voting machine from Cullman County for the next election. The council also plans to move the voting precinct for the next municipal election in 2020 to the community center (formerly the Scout House) from town hall. The council will vote on the location change in October.
Dodson also asked the council to be thinking about the salary amounts for the positions of mayor and council members. The salaries for the next terms must be determined by February.
Dodson explained, “I’m gonna bow out of this and let you all handle that. I ain’t got no dogs in this fight. Really, I think the mayor needs to pay some more money and I think the council needs a little increase too, but that’s just my own feelings. You all need to figure out between now and February what needs to be changed as far as that’s concerned.”
Maintenance director Mike Graves had a short report but was happy about the completion of the gutters at the community center.
The council continued its discussion from previous meetings regarding rental deposits for the community center. The council said the Town continues to find tables damaged and in need of replacement. No action was taken, but the Town is considering accepting debit and credit cards.
The Vinemont Town Council meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Vinemont Town Hall.
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