Folsom Alderwoman Jill Mathies, Mayor Lance Willie, Alderman George Garrett and Alderman Shawn Dillon.

Folsom Alderwoman Jill Mathies, Mayor Lance Willie, Alderman George Garrett and Alderman Shawn Dillon.

The Folsom Board of Alderman voted on May 13 to give themselves and Mayor Lance Willie $200 monthly raises, only the second time in the past 21 years they’ve approved their own pay hike.

The vote was unanimous, giving Folsom’s three aldermen a pay increase from $600 to $800 each month. Willie’s salary was bumped from $800 to $1,000 per month.

All are part-time positions, but the board and mayor noted they devote more time to the positions than their salaries might indicate, and don’t seek reimbursements for personal cellphones or mileage costs, either.

“I think our board does a great job of saving money when it comes to our expenses,” Willie said. “We work well as a team, and I think (the raises are) well deserved.”

“It’s beneficial and it’s needed,” alderwomen Jill Mathies said.

In other business, Jay Pittman, the village’s consulting engineer, said the sewer plant needs a new Variable Frequency Drive for one of its two treatment cells. The component drives the decanter arm in the cell and village officials were to meet with manufacturers of the part later in the week to discuss replacement possibilities.

“We’re trying to figure out with them how to get a secondary or alternate drive to communicate with the computer which is the brains of the system,” Pittman said.

Town officials indicated getting the part from the original manufacturer could take months, and they want to expedite the fix, if at all possible.

"It can't take months," Willie said. "I need that done."

Also at the meeting, Police Chief Shilo Bruhl indicated that the $109,600 surplus in her budget that aldermen authorized her to spend last month has already been put to good use. The police station’s parking lot has been repaved and parking capacity has increased from about five cars to 16, she said.

The Ford F150 that will be used as police unit has been purchased and should be in use soon, following addition of its “police package,” including striping, cage and more. A new flashing speed sign and accompanying trailer are in use and already are providing a deterrent for speeding motorists in the village, both Bruhl and Willie noted.

Email Andrew Canulette at acanulette@sttammanyfarmer.net

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