DAPHNE, Ala. — The debate over fund appropriation continued at the city council work session on Monday.

The council expressed support of: $8,000 for the Boys and Girls Club; $2,000 for the Baldwin County Trailblazers; $6,500 for a drug dog; $1,000 for gates at the scenic overlook to be closed at night; $60,800 for new air conditioning units at the Daphne police station; $37,000 for a fingerprint ID system to increase forensic evidence turnaround from two years to days; $21,000 to replace the Daphne Fire Department’s 1990 Ford truck; $14,000 for the Daphne Animal Shelter’s new truck; and $22,379 for furniture in the building inspection department.

Councilwoman Cathy Barnette continued to support hiring six firefighters who would serve at Fire Station 1. The city currently has two workers per truck per shift, but Station 1 is unmanned.

Mayor Fred Small still supported the hiring of three fire medics instead.

He asserted that medics could man the smaller truck for medical calls and leave the firefighters and chief to man the pump truck for actual fires.

“Seventy-three to 74 percent of our calls are medical,” he said.

Councilman Eric Nager suggested a compromise.

“As a member of the Army Reserve myself, I suggest we look at a similar model … pay on a contingency basis. Maybe that would be a solution to hiring full-time firefighters and valuing our volunteers as well,” he said.

Councilman August Palumbo also voiced concerns for the cost of full-time firefighters.

“I don’t think we can put every other thing in the city on hold for these six firefighters. We can’t scrap every other single responsibility that we have as a council,” he said, referring to the $192,000 needed for six firefighters’ pay.

Small also suggested that the council earmark $300,000 of the $400,000 cost of the justice center’s new roof, so that the entire burden wouldn’t fall on the next capital budget.

Barnette said the city leaders should not spend every bit of what they have left on this item that is not yet needed.

Councilman Ron Scott agreed with Small.

“I think it makes total sense. We need to start putting money aside for maintenance,” he said.

City leaders agreed to vote on non-controversial items as a whole on the current budget and take the above items as separate votes in hopes of aiding time efficiency.