MINER -- With a funding source for the city's fire department approved, the Miner Board of Aldermen have a lot to talk about.
Scheduling another meeting at 5:30 p.m. April 28 was one of the first decisions reached by the Board during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday.
Deloris Smith, board member, opened a discussion on approving financing for the purchase of a new fire engine by announcing she wanted to discuss it under old business, as the purchase of the apparatus was approved during a previous meeting.
But the approval by voters of a quarter-cent sales tax for the city's fire department during the April 7 election has opened up new possibilities that the Board needs to consider, Mayor Darren Chapman said.
"The fire tax has passed," Chapman said. "We should hire a full-time fire chief then take his recommendation on what to purchase."
City Clerk Darrin Skinner said the city will need to revisit the budget and make budget amendments to reflect the revenue and expenditures for the fire department.
"I want this fire department to be a first-class fire department," Chapman said. "Now that this tax passed, it can be a first-class fire department."
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