Lookout Mountain, Tn., Town consultant Ansley Moses on Tuesday introduced Paul Johnson to the town commissioners for a report on the annual audit of the finances. Mr. Johnson told the commissioners fiscal year 2009 was an outstanding year and the city should feel proud to send its financial statements to the state.

In a year in which many cities and businesses struggled, Mr. Johnson said, the Town of Lookout Mountain had an excellent year. The audit revealed $4,625,000 in assets, $2,368,000 in liabilities, and $3,009,000 in expenses, which included $524,000 in capital improvements.

Mr. Moses told the commissioners the auditors asked him to immediately cease pre-signing checks. He said it was his policy to sign several checks when he planned to be out of town and knew of checks that would need written while he was gone. The auditors were against that policy, he said, so in the future someone from the commission will have to come by town hall and sign checks when he is out of town. The commissioners indicated that would not be a problem.

The commissioners approved, on second reading, a cable TV franchise agreement with EPB.

Fire and police commissioner Carol Mutter said several cars have been vandalized in the past week. A purse taken from one unlocked car, a wallet from another unlocked car, and several items from a locked car were three reports she highlighted. The locked cars’ window was broken to gain access.

Ms. Mutter said the police are as vigilant as they can be. These types of crimes happen quickly and can go unnoticed by nearby residents as they happen. She urged all residents to be vigilant, lock their vehicles, and never leave valuable items visible. Residents should always alert police whenever anything even looks suspicious, she said.

Police Chief Randy Bowden said in one of the cases mentioned, the resident waited six days before reporting the theft. He said it is difficult to follow up on something that old, but if reported immediately, the police might have a chance to capture the culprit.

Chief Bowden also reported a recent arrest of a person who was first stopped for driving the wrong way on a one-way street and found to be in possession of illegal drugs.

Education Commissioner Bill Mitchell, said Lookout Mountain School received an “A” in all areas of academic achievement on the recent state report card.

Mr. Mitchell gave the following dates for school events:

Nov. 23 – Pioneer Day for 2nd Grade

Nov. 25, 26, & 27 – Thanksgiving holidays

Dec. 1 – PTA

Public works commissioner, Dan Crates, said his department is picking up leaves and the rain will cause more to fall and they will be around to get them too.

Mayor Greg Brown said the Town Christmas Breakfast will be Dec. 15 at 7 a.m. at the golf course.

Mayor Brown also acknowledged the election results in Lookout Mountain, Ga. He said he welcomes new mayor, Bill Glascock. It was always a pleasure to work with Mayor Tom Gifford, he said, and he will miss him and Dennis Eischeid who also lost his seat on the council to Blair Ramey.

The next meeting of the commissioners will be Dec. 8 at 5 p.m.

Commissioner Mutter provided the following statistics for the police and fire departments in October.

Police Calls - 106

Miles patrolled – 4,271

Burglar alarms - 26 (all false)

Assist citizen calls – 3

911 calls – 2

Traffic citations – 11

Traffic warnings – 22

Arrests – 1

Auto accidents – 0

Medical calls – 3

Fire alarms – 5 (4 false, 1 odor of smoke)

Dana Wilbourn
dbwilbourn@yahoo.com