The three-year-old dispute between the city and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management has been officially settled.

Monday the city council put to rest a Nov. 2007 lawsuit in which the city was to be fined for hundreds of sewer spills into local waterways.

The city will pay a $130,500 settlement as part of its fines. Pell City had to upgrade its sewer system over the past several years, costing taxpayers nearly $30 million.  

Those upgrades must be completed by next year or Pell city faces more fines from ADEM.

Also Monday night:

* Pell City agreed to change its water billing cycle from twice monthly to once per month. The change will go into effect in the coming weeks, but city officials were unsure when the actual monthly bill will begin.

* The city agreed to allow two building inspectors to remain on duty on an as-needed basis. One will be paid $50 per assignment, while the other will be paid up to $300 per week. Mayor Bill Hereford said the decision was based on the transition of the new building inspector.

* Pell City passed a resolution in support of Amendment 1 and encouraged residents to vote in support of the bill.