Last week, the city of Spanish Fort approved its annual contract with the Spanish Fort Fire Rescue Department.

Mayor Mike McMillan told the council during their work session that this year’s allotment would be $540,000 paid to the department in quarterly installments.

According the Spanish Fort city website, the Spanish Fort Fire Rescue Department “operates independently from the City of Spanish Fort City and is primarily funded by fire tax, City Contract, donations and miscellaneous revenues. The Spanish Fort Fire Rescue Department, mostly volunteers living in the City or nearby, provides around-the-clock fire protection and rescue services for the citizens and visitors of Spanish Fort.”

Some council members had questions about the department’s auditing practices.

“Did we ever get a breakdown of expenditures for that money?” Councilman J.R. Smith asked. “I know most things the city puts money towards we usually see that.”

McMillan said the city could get a breakdown upon request.

“We won’t get an audit unless we ask for it, but they’ve always agreed to make it available if we wanted it,” McMillan said. “They’re in the process of doing the audit from last year now.”

During the council meeting, the contract was approved 5-1, with Councilwoman Mary Brabner voting “No” on the contract.

Fire Chief Roger Few said he was somewhat surprised by Brabner’s vote against the contract.

“Most people probably wouldn’t vote against something that would fund public safety,” Few said. “It’s just odd.”

Brabner said she voted against the contract because it increased the department’s funding by more than $100,000 from the previous year’s budget and she felt uncomfortable increasing that budget before hearing from a consultant the city hired to look into their financial practices.

“Before we continue to give them additional revenue, I think we seriously need to consider bringing them in house,” Brabner said. “They’re going to continue to spend money the way they want to if they remain independent, and I think there needs to be a check and balance from the city on some of that.”