Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant laid off two part-time firemen and the town council voted to limit take-home vehicles to only those employees who are on call in an effort to cut expenses for the town.
Bondurant made the announcement during Monday night's town council meeting.
“This week I felt like we needed to cut back,” Bondurant said. “I cut back two firemen.”
Bondurant noted it still leaves Jeremy Lee as the full-time paid fireman at the fire department. He said Lee will be paid for 40 hours a week but will not leave a fire.
“I let two people go,” Bondurant said. “They understand we didn't have the money to pay them.”
Town Attorney Chuck Johns said the town only has a policy for take-home vehicles for the police department and recommended developing a policy for the rest of the town employees.
“I can't find a policy on utility vehicles,” Johns said. “I'd like to do a take-home policy for the town.”
Johns also said he had talked with the town's accountant and under new tax guidelines there may be some tax liabilities for employees who take home town-owned vehicles.
Johns also said the town needed to develop a policy on the use of cell phones. He said the city of Montgomery had a model policy he would get to the council to read.
Mayor Bondurant said he was prepared to ask for a motion to allow all police officers and three in the utility department to drive their town-owned vehicles home. He said if an employee is not on call they will not be allowed the drive the vehicle home.
The council approved a motion to limit take-home vehicles to only those employees who are on call.
