By Joseph M. Morgan

joseph@southerntorch.com

The Fort Payne City Council held a specially called meeting Tuesday at noon to hear a request for tax abatements from the DeKalb County Economic Development Authority for the organization(s) that bought the former Cherokee Hosiery Mill. The council passed resolutions granting tax abatement to Southern Wholesale Fibers and Recycling, Inc. (Resolution 2015-15) and Romans Warehouse Rentals, LLC. City officials said the special meeting was called to complete business that needed to be concluded before the new fiscal year began on Oct. 1, 2015.

The council also passed a resolution granting City Attorney Rocky Watson permission to obtain an Attorney General’s opinion on the appropriateness of the proposed practice of the City’s Office of Probation charging a probation fee of $15 as a solution to manage probation cases formerly managed by Judicial Correction Services (JCS), a private company that managed the process for the city until recent termination of the contract by the City of Fort Payne.

The city passed an ordinance authorizing the temporary suspension of the proposed probation fees until such time an Attorney General’s opinion is in hand.

The final item on the agenda at the special meeting was official notice of a legal claim that has been forwarded to the city’s insurance carrier alleging civil rights violations against individuals accused of crimes that stemmed from alleged aggressive fees and case mismanagement by JCS. There have been similar lawsuits brought against cities all over the state and country from the ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of accused criminals alleging wrongdoing by JCS in terms of the manner in which they collect fees on behalf of the cities the organizations represents. A number of cities throughout the state have terminated their contracts as a result of this increase in lawsuits and the allegations they make.