FY2022 budget work begins; tax abatement approved by Council

In the work session before the Demopolis City Council meeting Thursday, Council members began studying the proposed $10.4 million budget for FY 2022.

The major item in the budget is a five percent raise across the board for all city employees.

Mayor Woody Collins said the budget would be distributed Friday to the city’s department heads for their input. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

In the regular meeting, the Council approved a tax abatement for Foster Farms, which plans the purchase of $9.5 million in new equipment for its Demopolis facility.

Mayor Collins announced the reappointment of Lorenzo Moore to the Demopolis Housing Authority, and Jeff Bailey was named interim fire chief after the retirement of Talmus Williams.

He also told the councilman that he, with the approval of Police Chief Rex Flowers, had pardoned Alex Besteder for a crime stemming from a 2002 incident.

The Marengo County Historical Society Rooster Day, postponed from April, will be held Sept. 18. The Council approved street closings around the Public Square for the event.

Project manager Mike Baker reported that McNamara Road had been reopened Thursday morning after being closed for several weeks for repaving. Some landscaping remains to be done. Crews now are starting in Memorial Gardens.

The repaving project has six to eight more streets to complete. The budget then will be reexamined to determine what other streets can be paved with the remaining funds, Baker said..