By John Howell Sr.

Crenshaw aldermen on Thursday night resisted a proposal by Mayor Oscar Barlow to reduce elected officials’ salaries by $100 monthly.

Barlow cited the town’s outstanding debts to Panola County for garbage collections and prisoner confinements. “I feel that while we have these two debts outstanding we, as elected officials, need to do our part to cut costs,” Barlow said.

“I thought we were paying down,” said Alderman Patricia Dodson.

“We only paid what we owed; we didn’t pay on the past due,” Municipal Clerk Renee Ward replied. 

Crenshaw’s mayor makes $600 monthly; aldermen make $250.

“Do I have a motion?” Barlow asked.

Alderman Alberta Bradley made the motion.

“I oppose,” Dodson said.

“The motion’s dead for lack of a second,” said the mayor after a few moment’s silence.

Newly-sworn-in alderman Gregg Reed gave the meeting its third alderman and necessary quorum. Aldermen David Whitsell and Shirley Morgan did not attend.

Votes for measures that found seconds were unanimous. Aldermen agreed to:

•    Pass an ordinance regulating the operation of all-terrain vehicles in municipal limits;

• Declare an old fire truck as surplus, clearing the way for it to be sold for salvage;

• Extend municipal water and sewer service to the site proposed for a Dollar General store in Crenshaw. Fred Vincent of Marks spoke to the mayor and aldermen on behalf of a developer who has built other Dollar General Store in the area, including Como and Strayhorn.

Vincent described two parcels that might be acceptable for the store location, one of which lies outside municipal limits. On the advice of board attorney Tommy Shuler, Bradley included the stipulation that Dollar General would agree to annexation into Crenshaw corporate limits if aldermen voted to extend the services.

The town would receive about 18 percent of the sales tax collected on the store’s sales if it lies within corporate limits.