Council Banters about Issues

Monticello City Council members reviewed a number of business items Tuesday night while approving the council retirement compensation from $25 to $75 and increasing employee Christmas bonuses by 50 percent.

The council retirement increase didn’t come without a bit of verbal banter between council member Cynthia Miller, who introduced the measure via Zoom, and the County Attorney Joe Rietman. The retirement fund compensates council members at the designated rate per year for the number of years served on the government board.

Mr. Rietman was not in agreeance with the manner in which the issue was brought to the council for review. He said that usually matters of that nature are introduced prior to qualifying. Mrs. Miller disagreed with his interpretation and said the last time the retirement was increased that was not the case.

After some back-and-forth discussions, the council voted 3-2 to approve the increase with Mrs. Miller, David Wease and Larry Thurman voting for the measure and Doug Currie and Jenny Murphy voting against it.

Another item met with some contention was the revisitation of the tree trimming issue. During a November 1 special called meeting, council voted 4-1 to purchase an artificial Christmas tree for the Square at a cost of $12,066. Mr. Currie was the only dissenting vote.

Mrs. Murphy, who previously voted for the measure, said that she thought better of spending that much money on a tree and wanted to revisit the action. As one who voted for the measure, she believed it was in her power to reopen. Attorney Rietman said there were several options to revisit the matter, it could be reopened or reconsidered by someone who voted for the matter.

Mr. Currie and Mrs. Miller then had some discussions concerning the matter. Mrs. Miller said if council was “so concerned about the citizens” then the money for the tree should be taken and given back to the citizens via credits.

Mayor DeAshley Thurman suggested taking the funds and providing turkeys to the residents for the holidays. Attorney Rietman suggested giving credits on their utility bills or turkeys.

Isaac Nesler, Street and Facilty Maintenance Director, said that his crew could work on trimming the live tree on the Square and get it into shape for holiday use.

Mrs. Miller made a motion to give back the $12,000 for the tree purchase and divide the funds between city residents as credits on their December utility bill. The motion failed.

Mrs. Murphy then motioned to cancel spending money on the tree and letting Mr. Nesler work on the live one on the Square. The motion passed 3-1 with council member Miller voting against and Wease not casting a vote.

Also, council approved Christmas bonuses in the amount of $150 for employees; implementing business garbage accounts in the amount of $21.28 monthly for downtown businesses; approved paying Steele Co. for the balance of work completed; approved of a ECG year end credit settlement; and approved Amber Whitfield for a dog grooming business in the central business district following a public hearing.

Action on the Nancy Street petition for speed bumps and dissolving the IGA for Blockstream were tabled.

Council agreed to begin the process to solicit bids for the Shrimp Boat Building and wait on the electric/gas building sewer paving pad .

Council heard a brief presentation from Southern Crescent Technical College President Dr. Irvin Clark.

During a City Manager’s report, LaThaydra Sands said that progress was being made on the audits per reports from the accountants working on the statements.

To that end, council imposed another $10,000 cap on funds to be applied to the audit work as the previous $16,000 cap was almost depleted.

The report also included an update on the need for improvements to the water and sewer building. The city manager said an engineer will be visiting the council with a report.

A December 7 health & wellness luncheon has been planned for city employees as well as a council retreat in April.

During Citizen Comments, Evelyn Driskell of Webb Street thanked the council for approving the paving of her road and appreciates the street being fixed. She also brought greetings from former council candidate Melissa Strozier who sent congratulations to the those who won election.

Wanda Cummings congratulated those candidates that won following the election and encouraged everyone to work together.

Stephanie Puckett spoke about receiving a disturbing letter about city occupational taxes in the mail, purchasing a $12,000 tree, and seeking reimbursements for GMA council travel.

Council approved an executive session for personnel at the request of Mr. Wease at the beginning of the meeting, but at the close of the regular meeting he said there was no need for the session.