SILVERHILL, Alabama — Baldwin County Sheriff’s deputies are already on the job patrolling the town of Silverhill.

The Silverhill Town Council approved an agreement between the town and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department at its meeting on Tuesday night. The tri-party agreement also has to be approved by the Baldwin County Commission officials said.

While the agreement is effective Feb. 1 through April 30, BCSO Assistant Chief Deputy Maj. Anthony Lowery told council members Tuesday night that deputies are already on patrol in the town.

Lt. John Aldrich and Deputy Bob Correa were introduced to council members at Tuesday night’s meeting. Correa will conduct the day-to-day operations for the town, Lowrey said, while Aldrich will provide administrative support. Additional deputies would be dispatched on an as needed basis.

Residents in Silverhill are encouraged to call 9-1-1 for emergencies or 251-937-0202 for non-emergencies if you need assistance.

“This is a formula we’ve employed in Magnolia Springs (that does not have its own police force),” Lowery said. “We’ve also used this same formula twice when there was no police chief in Summerdale. We believe that, using this formula, when people call 9-1-1, there will be no drop in service, if not an improvement since Silverhill was already short-handed.”

The town is currently advertising for a new police chief following the termination of Kim Wasdin at a specially-called meeting on Thursday, Jan. 14. The town currently has one patrol officer, Al Malone, and will also be looking to fill another full-time patrol officer position.

According to the agreement, the town agrees to reimburse the Sheriff’s Department the salary-equivalent for one full-time deputy, said Mayor Tim Wilson.

“We are grateful to Sheriff Hoss Mack and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department for going above and beyond to assist in this matter,” Wilson said.

The Silverhill Town Council voted unanimously to approve the measure with council members Bert Jones and Wayne Gruenloh not present at Tuesday’s meeting.

In other business Tuesday, the council heard from a Silverhill resident looking to start a community garden in town.

“Our grandfather had a garden our whole lives,” said resident Randa Stuart. “It’s something we grew up with and thought it might be something that could be done in town.”

Stuart said she has expressed her desire for a community garden with several residents and has received a favorable response. She has also been in contact with several companies that have garden supplies about providing seed and other items and has received a favorable response.

She said she has also contacted the Bay Area Food Bank about providing any excess that might be available.

Wilson told Stuart that a meeting needs to be set up in the near future to discuss details of how such a program would work.

The council also heard Tuesday from Court Clerk Amy Macon about the possibility of using a free service called Municipal Intercept Services to use for debt collection.

For persons with long-time outstanding debt, Macon said, MIS intercepts the person’s Alabama Income Tax return to be used to pay off the debt. The debt would have to be over $25 and used on an inactive account for MIS to go into effect, Macon said.

If the person’s tax return did not pay off the entire debt, then MIS would contact that person, informing them that they still had an outstanding debt, allowing them the opportunity to pay.

If the debt was not paid off in that time, then MIS would go into effect again, provided that the debt was more than $25.

“This time of year, when people are in the process of filing their tax returns, is the perfect time to do this,” Macon said. “There is no cost to the town, so it’s worth it to give it a try and see how it goes.”

The service requires a Social Security number to obtain the information, Macon said, which can be provided by another service at a minimal charge.

The council also voted Tuesday 4-1 to donate $200 for the purchase of directional signs for a veteran’s cemetery on Highway 225.

Dr. Barry Booth address the council at a previous meeting and Wilson said this is something that every municipality is doing.

Council member Shirley Stephens voted against the measure. Stephens had previously made a motion to donate $100, which died due to a lack of a second.

CLARIFICATION: In the article "Silverhill Police Chief fate still undecided," published on gulfcoastnewstoday and in the Jan. 15 edition of The Baldwin Times, it was stated that Silverhill Town Clerk Patricia Bankester was included in the Jan. 11 executive session meeting. While Bankester left the council chambers after the executive session was called she did not, in fact, participate in the closed meeting. Gulf Coast Media regrets the error and any confusion it may have caused.