HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – Huntsville City leaders agree – if you are pulled over by police with a small amount of marijuana – instead of making an arrest, you will drive away with a ticket.
It’s a provision already allowed in other Alabama cities.
In a conversation between Council member Devyn Keith and an attorney regarding the possibility, they discussed disparities between Huntsville and other Alabama cities.
“In your findings of other cities, the only difference between us and the other cities who have this ability provision is the municipal judge?” said Keith.
“Correct, under the change to the law, every small city in Alabama that has part-time judges can continue to use this procedure. It’s only the larger cities with full time municipal judges that have to get the local law passed.”
In fewer words, Alabama lawmakers have to change the law so Huntsville officers can have the option to issue a citation.=
Another item on the agenda: discretionary improvement funds, called the Council Improvement Funds . It would allowing council members to use $75,000 to the benefit of their district to be used at their discretion. It was a point of contention among members and the mayor, with concern over transparency.
“Before we spend any money, we have at least 3, 4 sets of eyes on it and people look at it and say does this make sense, does this make the city of Huntsville a better place,” Mayor Tommy Battle started. “And when we get discretionary funding, we’re asking one set of eyes to look at it, but we’re not checking it the way that we check to make sure taxpayers money is spent wisely.”
Other council members were in support of the measure.
“The only thing that’s different in what you’re proposing is that we don’t have to go to mommy and daddy and ask for money and we ask each other,” said Frances Akridge, of District 2. “We don’t have to go ask the administration that we make some decisions based on what we know needs to be done and won’t have to cajole, convince, or plead anybody else.”
District 1 Council member Keith was also in support.
“I don’t know what I was use my Council Improvement Funds for because those projects have not been presented to me, thus I then echo, and it seems to be budgetary hypocrisy that there’s been a Twickenham festival that received funding because it Mayor said it was a good idea. We have made decisions inside the budgetary that were discretion improvement, whatever terminology you want to use. This is no different.”
It did pass with caveats, any money spent would have to be voted on by the full council and the mayor would have to sign off on it as well.
Finally, the cost of living adjustment at 5% for city employees was also approved tonight.
That pay raise will begin in October.
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