By Terry Schrimscher
IRONDALE — The Irondale City Council had only one item on the formal agenda as it convened the first meeting of month on Thursday night, March 12, but it never made it to the business agenda. Mayor James D. Stewart Jr. was absent, so the Council moved quickly into committee reports and public comments before Council President David Spivey motioned for adjournment.
The discussion revolved around the use of city funds to purchase coffee, or other nonessential items, for employees. Council member Cindy Cuellar suggested the use of city funds was likely against the law.
“The selected readings do state that coffee cannot be purchased,” Cuellar said in her report. “Now, I’ve also been told ‘well, you know, this is likened to getting pens and paper for the employees,’” she continued.
“My response to that is nowhere in the selected readings and nowhere in the handbook that we’ve been given does specifically state that we cannot buy pens and paper for our employees but it does state that we cannot buy coffee,” Cuellar said.
Cuellar offered the opinion that the issue should be reviewed and if the city does it for one department it should do it for all departments. Council President Spivey called a point of order on her discussion and redirected the conversation.
Cuellar concluded she has requested an opinion from the Attorney General’s office across all city departments.
In his report, Council member Robert Box thanked city workers for their hard work before commenting on the issue.
“Briefly, on the coffee, the water, the Gatorade, I run a business and if I don’t provide coffee, water and Gatorade to my workers that can be considered a health and safety [violation] and can open up for a lawsuit,” Box said.
“I don’t think it even has to be a question of why. We don’t need the AG’s opinion. We just need to do the right thing,” he concluded.
Council member Aaron Sims offered some clarification on the laws in a response on Facebook.
“We can legally provide things that are needed that serve a public purpose and allow our employees to perform their work in a safe manor, Sims posted. “Firefighters on a 24-hour shift, any employee asked to work in extreme heat, should be given what they need to do the job safely and effectively,” he said.
“It would be illegal to just sit a coffee pot in city hall and allow anybody to have coffee from it. That would not serve a public purpose,” Sims posted.
In his report to the Council, Sims turned attention to the great work done by volunteers in the Irondale community. He thanks the Chamber of Commerce, the Holiday Gardens Neighborhood Association and Irondale Community Foundation for organizing a drive to donate water, Gatorade, coffee and other items to first responders.
“Anybody out in the hot or cold doing their jobs so that we, as citizens of this city, can have water, can have our trash picked up and have an awake fireman show up if we need them at three in the morning—I don’t need an Attorney General to tell me that’s the right thing to do,” said Sims.
Council President Spivey thanked all of the organizers and volunteers who gathered and delivered the items and invited them to stand for a photo together.
As the meeting moved into public comments on non-agenda items, Cuellar responded to comments made about an alleged email from her office. When Spivey tried to move on to the agenda, Cuellar continued speaking and demanding to see the email. Spivey threatened to have her removed from the proceeding and finally motioned to adjourn the meeting.
The only item on the agenda was one brought forward by Cuellar, also asking for a ruling from the Alabama Attorney General on the legality of a contract employee working for the Mayor should be allowed to use a city credit card while conducting city business.
The resolution, which is expected to be on the agenda again, read as follows: “Resolved, That Resolution 2024-R-35 authorizes the City Attorney to obtain an opinion of the Alabama Attorney General as to whether the law allows an independent contractor employed by the City of Irondale as the Mayor’s Appointee under the Jefferson County Personnel Board to be issued and to utilize a City credit card when making City-related purchases on behalf of the City.”
The next meeting of the Irondale City Council will be held at 6 p.m. on March 19 at Irondale City Hall. An agenda for the meeting can be found on the Irondale website prior to the meeting.