By Terry Schrimscher, For the Tribune
CLAY – The Clay City Council held its first scheduled meeting of the month on Feb. 14, at 6 p.m., at City Hall.
The only new item on the agenda was a multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan requested by the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
“The county EMA has been asking us, asking all 36 cities in Jefferson County and Division G within Alabama to enter into a multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan,” said City Manager Ronnie Dixon. “This will be so the Jefferson County EMA can act on our behalf if we have an emergency like a tornado.
“If you were here before in 2012, you know there’s a threshold that has to be met county-wide before FEMA will offer any assistance. So, by entering into this multi-jurisdictional agreement, Jefferson County EMA will be able to compile and present on behalf of everyone so they will know you’ve reached that level of disaster coverage.”
The threshold for disaster coverage, according to Dixon, accounts for uninsured losses. He said Clay did not get relief funding in 2012 because losses did not reach the threshold for FEMA relief.
The multi-jurisdictional plan includes all cities in Jefferson County and extends to EMA Alabama Division G. The Alabama EMA has divided the state into seven geographical divisions to better manage emergency responses at a local level.
Alabama EMA Division G encompasses Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Cleburne and Calhoun counties.
The council unanimously approved the resolution. It will now be sent to the county EMA, which will present the plans for all the participating jurisdictions to FEMA for future emergency aid management.
Captain Chris Horn of the Center Point Fire District announced the department has added a rescue truck serving station four in the district. The station is located on Clay-Palmerdale Road and is one of the stations serving the Clay community.
The city of Clay is served by the Center Point Fire District and shares coverage with the cities of Center Point and Pinson.
In the City Manager’s Report, Dixon said the city’s general fund has a balance of $2.9 million and the reserve fund also has a balance of $2.9 million. The city’s capital fund has a balance of $1.7 million. He said the city has not received any ad valorem tax yet.
“Most of that is due to inflation in the cost of what people are paying for groceries and other materials,” Dixon said. “We’re going to have to pay it too but for the next 18 to 24 months it’s going to be really skewed.”
The next meeting of the Clay City Council is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Feb. 28, at Clay City Hall.