FAIRHOPE, Alabama—The City Council was sworn in last week and wasted little time in tripling the mayor’s salary, passing a $59 million budget that included a 3-percent pay raise for the 300-plus municipal employees, reappointing the city clerk and city treasurer, and eliminating the city administrator position, from which Gregg Mims resigned last month.

During its Nov. 5 organizational meeting, the council, with its four newly elected members and one incumbent, also elected Jack Burrell as council president. The current council consists of Council President Burrell, and members Kevin Boone, Diana Brewer, incumbent Mike Ford and Rich Mueller.

The council also appointed Mayor Tim Kant to the superintendent of utilities position, which he held for his first two terms until that job was removed from him by the last council. That council also reduced the mayor’s salary to $30,000 annually.

On Monday, the mayor became the head of the city’s three utility departments again at a salary of $60,000, making his total salary $90,000 a year plus benefits.

Although a city ordinance put the city administrator in charge of the utility departments under supervision of the mayor, a State Supreme Court decision in 2011 held councils could not usurp mayors' authority over city personnel. Kant has said he has been handling the superintendent of utilities duties since at least that time.

Burrell said eliminating the city administrator position would save the city $800,000 during the next four years.

Conspicuously absent from the council’s discussion and actions Monday was whether Marion “Tut” Wynne would be reappointed as city attorney, and the status of what the council planned to do about hiring a new police chief. Until action is taken by the council, Wynne will continue in that job, staff said.

At a recent meeting of the mayor and council members-elect, the group did take up those two issues. Boone said they needed to look into whether Wynne needed to be reappointed to the city attorney job.

Last Thursday, after The Courier’s print deadline, the city posted the agenda for the Nov. 12 council agenda, suggesting the council may appoint Wynne to the city attorney job tonight.

As for the police chief position, Kant said an advertisement for police chief had already been advertised, with the application period closing Nov. 30.

Kant told The Courier earlier this year that he thought the council should do a search for a new chief similar to how the last chief was selected, which included a national search by a council-appointed committee, resulting in a series of meetings and open interviews with the finalists.

Former Chief Bill Press resigned from that job after the Sept. 11 municipal election, anticipating he would not be reappointed by the newly elected council members. The new position for chief is advertised at $80,000 per year. The job is now held by interim Chief Joe Petties, formerly a captain with the department.

The police chief, along with treasurer, clerk, city judge and attorney, are positions appointed by the council, not the mayor, according to a handbook for mayors and council members by the Alabama League of Municipalities.

During today’s “Community Contact” radio show on WABF 1220 AM, Ford told host Lori DuBose that the chief’s position was one appointed by the mayor.

Throughout the Nov. 12 meeting, a standing-room-only crowd clapped and cheered at various points, such as when the budget was passed, and when statements were made such as those by Ford about getting “Fairhope back to the way it used to be and should be,” presumably referring to the tone set by the last council, which often sparred with Kant over a range of issues.

The council also passed a new set of rules of procedure for how it conducts its meetings. As proposed, the rules would not have required a public participation opportunity for citizens to speak on the record before ordinances, resolutions and other actions were voted on by the council.

After a request was made by The Courier at the meeting, the council reconsidered its proposed ordinance and amended it to include that public participation opportunity on the council agenda before votes will be taken by the council. The new rules also allow an opportunity for citizens to speak with the council at the end of the meeting on any topic.

Burrell said the council’s goal in adopting the new rules of procedure was to increase public comment and participation opportunities for residents.