May 1, 2008 -
By; Dwight Hayes
The City
of Arab received some unexpected money
Thursday. Not a huge amount in the
scheme of the total City budget, but enough
to possibly impact the paychecks of all city
employees. Mayor Frank Lee Cox
announced the windfall Thursday afternoon
along with a spending plan.
Each year the
Marshall County Gas District, owned by the
cities of Arab, Guntersville, and
Albertville, distributes a certain amount of
money to each of the city governments.
According to Mayor Cox, Arab's portion
usually ranges between $75 to $85 thousand.
The payment is budgeted as revenue for the
City each year. This year the gas
board increased the amount paid to the
cities and Arab's share came to $167,560.
That amounts to an additional $82,000 above
what was budgeted for this fiscal year by
the City. Cox said, "The additional
amount of money is not huge but is certainly
helpful."
Cox already has
a plan to spend or allocate most of the
money. "I plan to propose a 3.5%
,across the board, cost of living pay raise
for all city employees at Monday night's
council meeting." Cox said. If approved by
the council, the increase would become
effective May 12 and extend through the rest
of the fiscal year. The total cost for
the raises is estimated at $45,000. The
raises would then have to be budgeted for in
next year's budget.
