New front office clerk hired Monday
Council mulls new roof at old city hall building; reviews audit
BY LELAND ACKER

The Alto City Council mopped up paperwork and hired a new front office clerk during special meetings held Tuesday, April 30 and Monday, May 5. The council discussed constructing a new roof on the old city hall building, received the auditor's report and hired a new clerk.

"Brandon (Tyer) suggested that trading the old city hall for a two-year lease is not to our advantage," Mayor Pro Tem Annie Walker said. "We're going to do what's best for the utilities department. We're now trying to get bids on getting a metal roof installed."

Mrs. Walker had suggested moving the equipment for the utilities department from the old city hall building to a storage facility that the city would lease in exchange for old

city hall. However, Mr. Tyer, utilities supervisor, later told council members and the Cherokeean Herald that the building is still salvageable and could be a useful tool for the city.

At Tuesday's council meeting, council members discussed the prospect of putting a portable storage bin on city property adjacent to the old city hall until the new metal roof could be installed.

City Secretary Hattie Hamilton said representatives from Atlas Building Systems are still examining the building in order to provide the city with a realistic estimate.

"They want to make sure they don't bid too much or too little," she said.

Mrs. Hamilton added more good news in addition to Mr. Tyer's assessment that the building is salvageable.

"The representatives from Atlas Building Systems say the duct work is still good, and we should move forward before some of that begins to fall in," she said.

During the April 29 meeting, the council received a report from Eric Carver of Axley and Rhode, the firm which audits the city's financial records. Mr. Carver told the council that the city was in good shape financially, but suggested the city move toward tighter bookkeeping practices.

"The processes need to be redefined," he said, explaining that the council needed to adopt a budget and stick to it. "When you go outside the budget, you need to amend the budget. This is a problem that we believe is due to the significant turnover in the city secretary position."

The council interviewed three applicants for front office clerk. They hired Anita King.

"She will be doing utility billing and processing work orders for the utilities department," Mrs. Hamilton said.

The council will meet in their regular monthly session at 6 p.m. Monday, May 12 at city hall on SH 21 west.