Flomaton's monthly bills dropped from more than $80,000 to about $66,000 and the town's finances are in the black. However, council members said Monday night that it needs to keep a close watch on expenditures.
Mayor Dewey Bondurant Jr., told the council the town was $3,109 in the black after paying bills, but did say several departments, other than the library, were over budget for the fiscal year.
Councilman Charlie Reardon said the budget is a tool to go by and the council needs to know why certain departments are going over budget.
Mayor Bondurant said the police department is down three employees and the town is having to pay a lot of overtime. He said Flomaton now has six officers and needs nine.
Town Attorney Chuck Johns told the council 90 cases were on the docket for Tuesday's municipal docket and if you have less officers, there will be less cases, thus resulting in less money coming into the court system.
Councilwoman Lillian Dean said while she's attending meetings, council members from other small towns are shocked that Flomaton has so many police officers.
Councilman Jim Johnson pointed out that Flomaton has a major traffic artery that most small towns don't have.
“Just because we're checking the budget doesn't mean we are trying to get rid of the police department,” said Councilman Buster Crapps.
Reardon said the council can't analyze the budget if it doesn't know where the money is going.
“It's not the police department, I'm talking about it all over,” Reardon said. “We, as a council, can't set guidelines if we don't know why it's spent.”
Dean said she felt the council needed the department heads to attend the council meetings to explain why they are over budget and for the council to ask them if there is anything the council can do to help.
Bondurant did note that in the bills, the town had to pay money up front for the sidewalks and that the state still owes the town $60,000.
Crapps also said there seemed to be some friction between the employees and the council but added if the town doesn't have the money there will be no jobs.
“We just need to know,” Reardon said.
Bondurant also noted one day there were three paid firemen at the firehouse at one time, noting the town is now down to one paid fireman.
“We need to know where the money is being spent,” Reardon said again.
Flomaton resident Joffrey Tullis said when his father, Jesse Tullis, was the police chief in Flomaton, Mayor Judge T. Purefoy required him to be at council meetings. He said Purefoy also required other department heads to attend council meetings.
“We need to bring department heads back to be abreast of what's going on,” Dean said.
“I agree,” Crapps responded.
Councilman Roger Adkinson said whether or not the department heads attended council members was the mayor's decision, not the council's.
“Let the mayor make the request,” Adkinson said.
Crapps also complimented the mayor and fellow council members for looking out for the budget, noting it cut the bills this month and could do it again.
