During the monthly meeting of the Leesburg Town Council two officials were re-elected to the board. In a quick vote, Tom Moore was re-elected president and Doug Jones vice president for the upcoming year.

Brandon Queen, Leesburg street commissioner, presented a short report on the status of equipment and snow removal in the town. According to Queen, all equipment is “running great with no breakdowns or issues.” Queen noted the installation of new hardware on a salt sprayer that had been corroded as well.

“We have approximately 10-12 tons of salt or sand leftover. Snow plowing has been going good… we haven’t had anyone parking on the streets,” stated Queen. “Everyone has been cooperating and I appreciate that a lot.”

Moore took a moment to compliment the town for its cooperation with snow removal, noting that those plowing streets must get out of bed at 3 a.m. and only have about a two hour window to remove snow. In addition, Moore reminded that it is the responsibility of property owners to remove snow from sidewalks.

Derek Tenney also presented a quick sanitary sewer report. Tenney noted that he will need a few seal kits ordered but that otherwise “all has been good”. In addition Tenney noted that the new pump for the school is awaiting installation until the weather warms up.

The possibility of issuing bonus payments to elected officials whose salary is set by a salary ordinance was also discussed. The proposal came from Clerk Treasurer Mike Searfoss.

“The state says that based on the salary ordinance that the clerk treasurer salary, once it is set cannot, be reduced because it is an elected position but the bonus does not affect the salary,” noted Searfoss.

“I think this merits a lot more discussion than what we first might think,” stated Moore. “All elected official’s salary is set by the salary ordinance. There is a long standing state statute that says you cannot reduce that salary.”

Moore explained that if a person is being paid a certain rate for a job well done, their replacement would be guaranteed the same pay rate, regardless of the work done. Though an elected official’s salary can be increased, Moore noted once done so, pay can not be reduced later.

“I think there may be merit to that program but I don’t feel comfortable making a final decision about this this evening,” stated Moore. “I’d like to see it come back on the table for discussion after some research.”

The board closed the meeting with a quick note on trash collection. According to Jones, some trash cans throughout the town have been left out at the curb for several weeks. Jones explained that this has detracted from the town’s curb appeal and requested residents to please place trash cans at the curb on Thursday for a Friday pick-up, removing cans from the curb by Saturday morning.

Lastly, the board acknowledged and honored the passing of Jan Carter, former Leesburg Clerk Treasurer. “I’d just like to make a public acknowledgment of Jan’s service to the town of Leesburg as clerk treasurer,” stated Moore. “She was a very unique individual and was more than willing to step in at a time it was really a mess. It’s a hard loss that we no longer have Jan around but many of us have fond memories.”