Action taken on easements, maintenance rule
The February Cumby city council meeting ended sooner than expected after a majority of the council passed an ordinance that disqualified, but not vacated, three members due to delinquent utility payments or taxes, leaving too few for a quorum.
“This ordinance states that the city would have the authority to regulate and prohibit conditions to hold a seat or run for a seat,” council member Amber Hardy said. “Those conditions would consist of council members cannot be delinquent on their utilities more than three times in a 12-month period, and they also may not be delinquent on property taxes.”
Under the new ordinance, Hardy was disqualified due to delinquent water payments on one of her property’s accounts. Disqualified members have 90 days to resolve their delinquency. The vote was split 3-1, with Hardy, Sheryl Lackey and new council member Ryan Horne voting for and Betty McCarter voting against. Hardy had asked the item to be moved to another meeting, but when the motion was made, it was approved.
The disqualification ordinance was the tenth business item overall and the fourth item in new business. The council still had seven more items to address on the agenda. However, presentations with no action were still given.
Before the disqualification, the council approved a separate ordinance authorizing officer holders as signatories. According to city attorney Leigh Thompson, it automatically deems the office holders as signatories when elected instead of the council formally approving the change in a meeting.
In an effort to further secure Cumby ISD, superintendent Shelly Slaughter requested easements on a section of Style Street. The district’s plan is to install crossing arms that will be lowered during school hours, improving campus security.
“Right now, anybody can just drive through campus, and it is wide open,” Slaughter said. “We have kids going from the gym, going to the ag shop, going to art, going back and forth. We’re trying to secure the campus as much as possible.”
Slaughter aims to have the project in place by the start of the next school year. The council approved to move forward with the easements unanimously.
The council also passed an property maintenance ordinance that adds teeth to a previously passed code that outlines requirements for maintenance and outlines violations. According to Thompson, residents could be fined up to $2,000 for misdemeanor violations.
“Most are going to have a lesser fine, but the rule is capping it at $2,000,” Thompson said. “It’s more for fines for people who don’t keep up with their yard or people who refuse to cut the grass and stuff like that.”
To avoid future employment problems, the city also approved changing the payday from Thursday to Friday starting March 5. Lackey said employees were paid Thursday mornings with work hours remaining in the pay period, and she added the current payday seemed to be an “unethical way of handling the city’s and citizen’s monies.”