By By ANNA M. LEE Assistant Editor
The Brewton City Council has formed a committee to determine if -- and how much -- the mayor's and city council's salaries will change with the next election.
The previous council determines the salaries for the upcoming council and mayor.
During the election year, the city council forms a committee to discuss and make a recommendation about salary changes.
The committee then meets to decide whether to change salaries or keep them at present levels.
The committee, made up this year by councilmen Frank Cotten and Cary Barton, will survey other cities about the same size as Brewton to see what comparable salaries would be, Cotten said.
To gather information about the salaries in other cities, committee members will call and talk to the city clerk or a council member in that city, Barton said.
Cotten and Barton will make a recommendation to the city council and then the council votes on whether to accept the recommendation.
This process is repeated every four years before mayoral and city council elections.
Cotten and Barton will meet and discuss the salary change this week in order to have a recommendation by the Jan. 27 city council meeting, Barton said. If so, they will present it to the council at that meeting.
By state law, Alabama city councils must set salaries for the next term by Feb. 24, 2004, Jennings said.
Brewton's city council meets on that date, but will likely have considered a recommendation from Cotten and Barton before then.
Brewton mayor and city council salaries were changed for the current term by last term's city council in October 2000.