By Samantha Sinclair
A proposal for a town’s elected officials to be paid less didn’t move forward Tuesday night.
Alto Councilman Allen Fox proposed an ordinance at the town’s council meeting that would limit the mayor and council members’ compensation to one meeting per month.
His motion died as no other council member seconded it.
The mayor and council gets paid per meeting — the mayor receives $125 and each council member receives $100 per meeting for a total cost of $625, if each person attends. Fox did the research and the math, determining there was an historical average of 2.9 called meetings — or additional meetings to the regularly scheduled meetings — each calendar year for the past 10 years, costing the town about $1,800 per year, if every elected official attended those meetings.
Fox’s proposal would end those payments for called meetings, saving the taxpayers money.
However, the mayor and council’s compensation is outlined in the town’s charter, which requires the state legislature’s approval. Councilman Eddie Palmer argued it was a lengthy process last time the charter was updated, and that he didn’t think it was necessary.
The charter was last updated in 2022 when a nepotism clause was added, preventing immediate family members from serving on the council together.
Palmer said the council could instead vote at called meetings on whether or not they get compensated for the meeting.