Council begins year-end wrap up

By Jan White
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CROCKETT – As the year begins to come to a close, the Crockett City Council met on Monday, Dec. 6, to address several outstanding issues. But before they tackled the agenda items, Mayor Ianthia Fisher welcomed guests, then Council members listened as John Jenkins expressed his thoughts over the recent sale of the property on Loop 304 that formerly belonged to the CISD.

The meeting adjourned to Executive Session, reconvening shortly afterward, with members voting not to pursue the litigation that had been discussed. Then they moved on to the monthly police report given by Chief Clayton Smith.

Smith noted a slight rise in calls and arrests, explaining that the department does experience a higher holiday volume between Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but that it’s not unusual to see a spike. 

In the absence of Fire Chief Jason Frizzell, City Administrator John Angerstein reported that a military surplus truck has been obtained and is being prepped for service as a highwater rescue truck. He also said that the City had received an additional grant of $20,000, which would provide a water skid unit for the department.

Because of the high cost of supplies and the increased use in online purchasing, City Administrator John Angerstein requested an increase in the credit limit of the City Visa card from $5,000 to $10,000. The credit card is used by all three central departments – City, Fire Department, and Police Department. On many occasions, individuals must use their personal credit cards for business-related travel or purchases. 

Then the expenses are submitted to the City for reimbursement. 

Angerstein explained that the raised credit limit would help alleviate that extra step and also allow the Fire or Police departments to purchase equipment without maxing out the credit card. After a brief discussion, the motion was made and approved to increase the credit limit.

The final agenda item was the approval of an updated City of Crockett Personnel, Policy, and Procedure Manual. City Administrator Angerstein said that in conjunction with attorney Bill Pemberton, the new manual has been revised to eliminate outdated verbiage and conflicting policies. A discussion followed regarding handling grievances, and after questions were satisfied, the Council voted to approve the new manual. 

Two outstanding policies that still need to be addressed were compensatory time and tuition reimbursement, which will be voted on and added later. The new policy manual will go into effect on January 1, 2022.