Pell City council members continued discussions about redistricting the map of Pell City to ensure a balanced number of voters in each district.

With an increase in population, some districts in Pell City now have more voters in some districts than others.

Council member James McGowan suggested re-evaluating the proposed maps based on concern voiced during a public hearing.  Concern arose about the numbers in District Two, which is a minority-majority, and the housing authority that is currently part of District Two.

“The biggest thing we have to do is to protect District Two,” council member Donnie Guinn.

Council members also discussed concerns about residents of the same neighborhood being placed in separate districts.

“This is all about one guiding principle. It’s about one man, one vote,” Mayor Bill Hereford said.  “It’s really made our country what it is today.  That’s our goal.”

The council did not come to a decision on a proposed map and plans to go back to the drawing board to continue discussing different options for redistricting.

During the council meeting on Monday night,  members also discussed mayor and council member salaries for the upcoming administration.  The council agreed on a salary of $800 per month for council members and $1,000 per month for the council president.  However, no agreement was reached concerning the mayor’s salary.

In other actions:

— The council accepted an excavator bid for a three-year lease on traffic equipment in the amount of $2,881 a month.

— the council granted the mayor approval to hire a certified professional engineer for the position of City Engineer to handle in-house day-to-day operations at Step 37 on the city pay scale.

— a job description was adopted for the position of City Manager with a pay range of $37,000-$40,000.

— the council approved donating old phones to the Soldier Program.