By Crystal McGough
CLAY – David Cork, of Cork, Hill & Company L.L.C, presented the city of Clay’s 2019-2020 audit report to the Clay City Council on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.
“The city had another good year this year,” Cork said. “It seems like it just comes easy for them, I guess.”
Cork said that cities report under two different methods of accounting: entity-wide and funds-basis.
The city of Clay ended the fiscal year with a net income of $1,988,000 for the entity-wide report. For the funds-basis, the city had a net income of $453,000.
The city spent a total of $1.3 million from the funds on capital assets during the 2019-2020 fiscal year, Cork said. Capital assets include city improvements such as the splash pad, which is expected to open on Memorial Day.
Additionally, Cork reported that the city donated approximately $265,000 to the local schools and reduced debt by about $320,000.
“The city now owes about $4.3 million, which is very little for a city,” he said. “That’s just not much at all. The city is doing a great job of managing that debt … Just another good job by your mayor and city council.”
City Manager Ronnie Dixon said with the Cosby Lake dredging completely finished, the city began allowing fishing at the lake as of last Thursday. The Fish and Wildlife Service has recommended that the city designate Cosby Lake as a catch-and-release lake, with the exception of catfish and bass that measure over 16 inches in length.
“In the past, we’ve had people taking our white amur out – the carp, the grass-eating fish,” Dixon said. “The bigger problem is that they are taking 5-gallon buckets of brim that are so small you can hold them in your hand, so there’s no food for the bigger fish to eat. We have an over-population of big fish, so we want people to take those out. We want them to have fun catching them and put the yearling catfish and the brim (and) yearling bass, put those back in but take the big ones out.”
Dixon also said that the Clay Fishing Rodeo will return this year, taking place the first Saturday in June. The event will be free and last all day.
“It won’t be like the past; it’s put on by Fish and Wildlife,” he said. “You don’t bring your own rods and reels – they furnish them to you out of the trailer. The city is going to sponsor the snacks and bait.
“They’re really excited about having the entire lake and every species to catch because they want to use it an inventory system for Fish and Wildlife, too.”
Mayor Charles Webster said that the Pickleball Alabama Open was a success, with 400 participants from four different countries and raising over $9,000 for charity.
“Everybody was very nice,” Webster said. “They had nothing but positive to say about the courts.”
The next meeting of the Clay City Council will be Tuesday, April 27, 2021, at Clay City Hall, beginning at 6 p.m.