It was a busy night for the Pike County Commission on Monday as they approved the county budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

The next piece of business up for debate involved the contract for paving County Roads 2238 and 7708. County Engineer Russell Oliver asked the Commission for their recommendation on which road should be paved first. Commissioner Goodson made a motion that was approved by the Commission that County Road 7708 would be resurfaced first in order to alleviate any congestion that might arise from having County Roads 2238 and 2214 being serviced at the same time.

Oliver also sought the Commission’s recommendation on how to handle the engine repair of a motor grader. Commissioner Harris introduced a motion recommended that the contract for engine repair be bid out to multiple businesses and that, following the repair, the motor grader be reinstated into the Road Department’s fleet for an indefinite period of time.

The Commission received two proposals for the County’s liability and property insurance, one from the Witherington Group, the other from the Association of County Commissions of Alabama. It was determined that there was not enough information available at the time to move forward to a vote, so the issue was moved to next Monday.

The major item of the night was the approval of the 2013-2014 fiscal year budget. Initially, Commissioner Goodson introduced a motion that provided for a three percent cost-of –living raise for County employees. The Commission denied the motion by a vote of 5-1.

Commissioner Jackson then introduced a motion that allowed for a one percent raise for all employees that was funded by cutting from the training, management, and Southern Linc allowances in the budget. The motion was defeated 3-2-1.

The Commission approved the budget by a vote of 4-1-1 in a motion introduced by Commissioner Harris. The motion passed the budget as is except for the removal of a $3,000 raise for a County employee.

The approved budget was similar to the budget of 2012-2013, but the Big Brothers Big Sisters program was defunded by $5,000, and these funds were reallocated to $1,500 for the Montgomery Area Food Bank and $3,500 for the Boys and Girls Club.

There was confusion later in the meeting when Commissioner Harris attempted to withdraw his motion to approve the budget after it had already been approved. After he was advised that this was not possible, he introduced a motion for the Commission to reconsider approving the budget.

The motion died, however, when it was not seconded.

The County Commission also approved the appointment of Glen Atkins to the E-911 Board.

The County Commission recessed until Monday at noon.