Birmingham's City Council president is defending the group’s recent decision to raise their salary from $15,000 to $55,000.
Some council members have said they have been asked to do full-time work on part-time pay.
Local media reports the nine-member council voted 8-1 to approve the raise last week and faced questions Tuesday night on the way the increase was handled. The vote was added last minute to a meeting agenda as an addendum and was passed with virtually no time for public comment.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, council president Johnathan Austin said the raise doesn’t go into effect until 2017. Austin says the higher salary is for future council members and not the current group.
Mayor William Bell told WBMA-TV that allowing time for public discussion is necessary when it comes to financing public offices.
Citizens in Fairhope will get the chance to voice their opinions on plans to update the city’s land use. Maps were generated by Thompson Engineering and show a range of projects to grow the city.
Jonathan Smith is the planning and zoning director for Fairhope. He says there are four maps people will get to choose from.
“Each alternative is very different from the other, we have pretty simplistic approach and then we have an alternative that is fairly complex and will require a lot of intergovernmental cooperation especially between the city and the county and possibly the state.”
Smith says more information about the meeting is available on the city’s website. The town hall-style meeting takes place tonight at 6 p.m. at the civic center in Fairhope.
The Alabama Department of Corrections is looking to fill more than 200 jobs.
The department will be hosting a job fair in the city of Atmore. The positions will be at the Fountain and Holman correctional facilities.
Captain Mark Loman says they are looking for candidates that possess the values promoted by the Department of Corrections.
“We want people that possess the core values of professionalism, integrity and accountability -- people that can come in and do a job the correct way.”
Those interested should visit the Atmore City Hall. Another job fair will be held October 1. Applicants must also be at least 19 years old, in good health and physically fit. All applicants will be administered a physical ability test.
The city of Gadsden only has until October 1 to reach a new jail contract with the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office.
The existing contract between the city and the jail expired two years ago. But the sheriff’s office has continued to house Gadsden’s prisoners that were charged with misdemeanor offenses.
Gadsden and Etowah County officials have been debating the issue for months, but haven’t been able to come to agreement. Unless a new contract is in place, Sheriff Todd Entrekin plans to tell his jail staff not to accept any more Gadsden misdemeanor prisoners starting midnight September 30. Felony suspects will still be accepted.
The city of Gadsden paid $840,000 last year to Etowah County to house their inmates. Current expenses would require the contract to increase to nearly $860,000.