ELBERTA — With every position on the Elberta Town Council in contention on Aug. 28, it’s no wonder Tuesday’s candidate forum drew a crowd.

Hosted by the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, the two-hour event was held at Elberta Town Hall and broadcast on WHEP radio and enabled attendees to ask questions by writing them down on index cards. Those cards were then presented to moderator Bradley Byrne, who shared them with the 12 present candidates.

Several of the questions were addressed to the mayoral candidates, incumbent Marvin Williams, and Steve Kirkpatrick, who currently serves as a council member. One such question asked whether the two believed the spending of public funds need council approved or whether the mayor should have authority to act without council approval.

“It’s the state law,” Kirkpatrick said of the need for council approval. “In the past, the council voted on everything and that’s the way to do it.”

“Sometimes it’s hard being the mayor,” Williams said, adding that he gives each department head a budget and oversees the spending.

Another question addressed whether the mayor should have the authority to remove a police officer from his position without consulting the council.

“This is somebody poking at me,” Williams said, citing his termination of the town’s previous police chief earlier this year. “When there’s a decision to be made, you’ve got to put your big-boy drawers on and do what’s got to be done.”

“I don’t agree with that, at all,” Kirkpatrick countered. “You violate state law when you do it that way. First off, there’s no due process, and there’s several Attorney General’s opinions on that. You can’t bring the charge and be the judge, jury and appellate.”

Several questions were open to all of the candidates, one of which touched on how the candidates viewed the structure of town department heads. Each candidate said they thought department heads should handle their departments and bring larger issues to the council.

“I’d also like to see council members work with committees divided up and working with the departments,” Place 2 candidate Randy Kurtts added.

Other issues the candidates discussed included acquiring funding to hire police officers. Williams was the sole candidate to decry doing so.

“The problem with grants is that most of them only last for two years,” he said. “Where are you going to get the money for the third year?”

Additionally, the candidates were all in agreement on instituting neighborhood watches.

“I’d also like to see us have street parties and events that help us get to know our neighbors,” Place 5 candidate Chris Bourne said, adding that he felt that doing so would create a sense of community and awareness.

Increasing Elberta’s commerce was addressed, as well, with candidates offering solutions that included attracting new business, asking building owners to offer rent discounts to get businesses into empty buildings using the Internet and playing on Elberta’s German heritage to market the town, as well as the candidates’ views on the city’s finances.