Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ZACHARY SEIFTER/ Staff Writer

The Thorsby Town Council approved its budget for the upcoming fiscal year during a meeting on Sept. 20.

The budget was approved unanimously by Mayor Robert Hight and Council Members Justin Killingsworth, Chasity Chapman, Marvin Crumpton and Glenn Littleton. Mayor Pro Tem Neil Benson was not present at the meeting.

There was a work session on Sept. 7 held to discuss the budget.

In that meeting, the council expected to have about $1,616,082 in revenue, however, that number increased to $1,652,244 in the approved budget, over $300,000 more than it had a year ago. In the budget, $1,563,750 is to be spent by the various departments in the town, with the rest to be saved.

Also different from the budget discussed in the work session two weeks ago was the council adding $500 to the advertising budget and $2,000 to the Helen Jenkins Chapel maintenance budget for window repairs.

“Other than that, it’s the same as the work session,” Hight said.

During the meeting, the council also received its 2020 audit. The audit gave a positive report about where the town is as far as its assets, liabilities and net value. The total assets for the town was about $5.6 million, and the net value for the town was approximately $3.1 million, up from $2.9 million in the previous audit.

Also discussed was the possibility of reclassifying Thorsby from a town to a city. The population grew to over 2,000, the minimum population for a city, according to Littleton, meaning Thorsby could become a city.

“We’re going to get with the town attorney to make sure we do everything by book, so that we don’t leave something out,” Hight said. “I’ve never went through this before, but we are going to change it to a city.”