Fairfield city council started work on the 2010-11 budget last week when it heard several funding requests.

Those requests, made at a budget workshop, came from Freestone County Historical Museum, Fairfield EMS Ambulance Service, Fairfield chamber of commerce, Fairfield History Club and New Leash on Life.

Freestone County Historical Museum, represented by curator Sandy Bates Bell, is requesting $80,000, the same amount received last year, to help cover every day expenses and renovation projects. This amount is to come out of the hotel/motel account.

Fairfield EMS Ambulance Services, represented by director Billy Perez, is seeking $200,000 this fiscal year, which is $116,000 more than the $84,000 received last year. "We have tightened our belt as much as we possibly can. The national average in ambulance services is 17 percent under funded, and with the cut in funding from the city and private insurance companies now only paying the same as Medicare rates, we are struggling to stay afloat," says Perez.

Fairfield chamber of commerce, represented by Cheryl Cockerell, is requesting a total of $84,000 from the hotel/motel fund to continue promoting Fairfield and its businesses to visitors. The first $40,825 is to be used for tourism events and the remaining $43,175 is to be used for running the business, promoting the welcome center, running the websites, maps, billboards, and creating welcome packets.

Fairfield History Club, represented by Melinda Bonds, is seeking $25,276 from the hotel/motel fund to cover the cost of 100 chairs to be used at several events throughout the year.

New Leash on Life (NLOL), represented by Cindy Philips, came to the city for the first time to request $15,000-$20,000 to keep the animals fed and watered daily.

The organization needs a total of $34,000 to build better shelters to keep the animals out of the mud.

Freestone county cut NLOL's funding by 25 percent from last year and they were told it would be a waste of time to speak at a Teague city council meeting by one of its members after being promised funding from the city.

A rough city budget draft calls for expenses of $6 million offset almost equally by $6 million in revenues.

The budget is broken down into two major parts, general fund and enterprise fund.

The general fund includes the bulk of city departments and the enterprise fund encompasses the water and wastewater departments.

Proposed general fund expenses for the 2010 fiscal year is $4,067,867 and the enterprise fund is budgeted at $2,782,980. Both are lower than budgets set for the 2009 fiscal year.

A regular city council meeting was held after the budget workshop in which council members voted on hiring Donna Bulger for the position of court clerk.

Leldon Childs made the motion in favor with Joe Lee Kirgan, Jr. as second. Kenny Hughes and Donna Tyus voted against.

Luke Ward, Jr. was not in attendance at the meeting therefore causing a tie that was broken by Mayor Roy Hill's vote.

Mrs. Bulger is now court clerk, effective immediately with a starting pay of $10 an hour.