By Fred Guarino
The Lowndes Signal

With assets and sales tax collections improved over the previous year, the Lowndesboro Town Council received an excellent audit report  at Tuesday night’s regular council meeting.

The council also made plans to honor its volunteer fire department and for the annual Lowndesboro Fourth of July parade and program.

Leon and Bryan Kelley of Leon M. Kelley & Co. LLP in Montgomery presented the audit report.

According to Bryan Kelley, at the end of the fiscal year, Lowndesboro had net assets of $1,705,191, a $365,531 increase over last year’s net assets of  $1,339,660.

Leon Kelley said the increase was due to increased sales tax revenue and a new water tank.

“I didn’t expect any less with the town doing so well,” Mayor Rick Pate said. “We’ve done a good job of administering the grants that we’ve had and improved the infrastructure.”

Pate said town’s water system is being run like a business and the town has been frugal with its money. He said with a certified water operator in Wynn Ellis, the town is not having to pay outside consultants.

“It’s paying off. We’ve got money in the bank,” Pate said.

This Saturday, June 16 will be Lowndesboro Volunteer Fire Department Day.

“To have gotten from where we were to where we are now in the amount of time we’ve gotten there is just monumental,” Pate said.

“I’ve heard that the kids at school are just so proud of their daddies (the volunteer firemen),” Council member Dennis Blair said.

The annual Fourth of July Parade and program will be held on Wednesday, July 4. Parade participants will lineup at Lowndes Academy at 8 a.m. with the parade set to begin at 8:30 a.m.

There will be a program at Ruby S. Moore Park with District Court Judge Adrian D. Johnson as guest speaker and the Alabama Air National Guard Color Guard from the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field in Montgomery.

There will also be patriotic songs, lemonade, cake and watermelon. Council member James Adams reported that he purchased new pole brackets for the town’s American flags and four new flags to bring the total for the town to 25.

In other matters, the council discussed getting County Road 29 stripped, approved the minutes of its May 8 and June 4 meetings and approved financial reports.