Story by Donna Thornton donna@southerntorch.com

The Rainsville City Council voted Wednesday to give city employees a 3% raise.

The raise will go into effect Jan. 1, 2025.

The council also talked about, but tabled action on, a resolution that would prevent police officers from carrying weapons not issued by the city in patrol cars.

The council has been discussing the issue for some time, since a Rainsville police officers was involved in a crash that damaged a personal rifle he had in the vehicle. The department’s insurance carrier would not cover the cost of the personal weapon, and the council voted to pay for it.

But the circumstances raised the question of whether personal weapons should be in police department vehicles, and the mayor and council decided they should not; that the city should provide any weapons that officers carry.

Mayor Rodger Lingerfelt told council members at a previous meeting he’d been looking at some weapons – the kind of rifle this officer had placed in the police vehicle for added protection for himself and the citizenry.

However, those weapons have not been purchased yet, and the council decided it should not pass a regulation banning personal weapons in vehicles until the addition firepower has been provided for officers.

One council member referred to an incident at Geraldine High School Wednesday, when a student was found to have a gun at school, as evidence of the kind of unexpected incident that can occur.

No one was harmed at Geraldine; students reported a gun on campus and the student was quickly dealt.

 Still, Rainsville Police Chief Michael Edmondson said, if there were a more serious incident, not having the proper weapons to respond could be a problem. The council, the mayor and the chief agreed that they need to decide what weapons they will get and have them available before enacting the resolution.

“I want them to have good reliable weapons,” Edmondson said.

The council authorized the mayor to sign a contract for the purchase of as many as 14 sets of turn-out gear for the fire department. The city will pay a 10% grant match to get the turn-outs.

The purchase of a government portal for the court system, to make it easier for people to make payments, was approved. Two machines will be purchased at a cost of $600.

A street light was approved for the construction site of the new public works building, as was the sale of a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe to Hughes Body Shop. The council OK’d the purchase of tools for mechanic, at a cost of $2,465.30. 

Council members approved entering a management service agreement with FTC to protect the city from potential hacking. The agreement will cost about $2,500 a month.

“I know it’s expensive, but if we were to get hacked it could be disastrous,” Lingerfelt said.

In departmental reports, council members heard that the sports complex varsity field is ready for turf, but the company installing it is behind. The company is expected to begin work on turf Monday, and should be finished with it in 15 days. Fencing will be put in after the turf.

Two fields are ready with drains, and the construction company will bring in another crew at the first of the year, shooting for completion at the end of March.

The police department has two officers who’ve just completed police academy, with another four officers set to go to the academy, and to graduate in March.