DAPHNE, Ala. — Members of Daphne’s City Council discussed a procedural matter that required the council to make a formal request in the form of a resolution to request information from Daphne Mayor Fred Small.

Small said he was not trying to make matters more difficult than they needed to be, but that he was simply following procedure laid out by Alabama laws.

The council formally requested information from Small regarding personnel matters, which included information about the number of workers on worker’s compensation, light or modified duty, and the status of the city’s worker’s compensation premiums.

Councilman Ron Scott said the council requested the information so discussions could commence regarding the city’s finances. The city is currently spending 70 percent of its budget on personnel costs. Scott said the city should be spending closer to 55 percent of its budget in personnel.

Councilman Bailey Yelding said the formal request for information from the mayor seemed like too much.

“I don’t know when this information was discussed, but I feel like there is a breakdown somewhere here. I know the council president should be a liason between the council and the mayor and I feel like there is some breakdown in communication here that we need to try to get that corrected,” Yelding said.

Councilwoman Cathy Barnette said she was simply following procedure requested by the mayor.

“The mayor has asked us to follow this protocol to get information, which is why it is on the agenda,” Barnette said.

Scott questioned the mayor as to whether every request for information would have be formally approved by the whole council.

 “We are asking for certain information. I thought it was to the point where if the council president wanted something from the mayor that they could request the information without having a formal request from the whole council.  Now does it have to go before a full council?” Scott said.

Small said he was not trying to make getting information difficult for the council.

“It can be requested by the council president to me in writing,” Small said. “Number one, I think the way that the state law meant for this to work is that any information needed from any particular department head would go through the mayor’s office. I have never had a problem with any council member that has requested any information as long as I have it in writing so I can get the correct information back to you, I have never asked for a resolution.”

Small said he also felt on occasion the requests received did not seem justified.

“There has been one or two times when I felt like it might be a council member that was asking for stuff that the rest of the council probably would not approve of, I may have asked for a resolution then, but it would be very few and far between,” Small said.

“This information, 99.9 percent of this information requested is public information anyway. This is information any citizen could get if they asked for it properly,” Councilman August Palumbo said. “I don’t know why we have to do a resolution. I don’t think anywhere it is required if a council member wants information the entire council has to agree to get that information. We all serve on different committees and we all have different interests in how to move the city forward. It should be available to the council.”

In other news, Monday, the council:

• Voted 6-0 to authorize the Utilities Board to transfer property in Campbell Swamp, and voted 6-0 to accept the property from the Utilities Board.
• Voted 6-0 to award a bid to Pioneer Manufacturing Company for athletic field marking paint. The funding was approved in the budget already.
• Voted 6-0 to amend the hiring freeze policy. The hiring freeze ordinance did not include procedures for dealing with positions funded by a grant or positions required to be filled by law.
• Voted 4-2 to approve a request from Eastern Shore Toyota to waive penalties and interest for failure to get a business license in a timely manner. The council opted to waive half of the penalty, which will result in the dealership owing the city $7,519, plus interest. The dealership’s total penalty was originally $17,043.
• Voted 6-0 to authorize advertising a patrol officer position. There is not currently a position open, but the hiring list has expired.
• Voted 6-0 to authorize the mayor to enter into a contract with the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program. The funding for the $15,000 contract has already been approved.
• Proclaimed the week of May 16-20 as National Public Works week. The city will celebrate today with a demonstration at Lott Park. The demonstration will include all the machinery used by the Public Works Department and more than 1,000 school children are scheduled to attend. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Proclaimed the week of May 21-27 as National Safe Boating Week.
• Voted 6-0 to approve a special events retail ABC license for Alex Naman Catering.
• Voted 5-1 to declare certain property, which includes bicycles, a four wheeler, saws, golf clubs, a scooter and a weed eater, as abandoned, stolen or confiscated. The council authorized the mayor to sell the property to the highest bidder.