Pine Level sets elections for first municipal government
PRATTVILLE – An election has been called to form the municipal government of the newly incorporated town of Pine Level.
The Autauga County community is about 15 miles north of Prattville. Autauga County Probate Judge Kim Kervin set the election for Dec. 12, and will be for the mayor’s post and five council members.
Candidates must have lived within the boundaries of the town for at least three months prior to the election and must otherwise be qualified voters in the county.
People have until 5 p.m. Nov. 14 to qualify at the probate office in downtown Prattville. There is no qualifying fee, since there is no council established to set election fees for the town. Municipal elections in Alabama are nonpartisan, meaning candidates do not declare a political party affiliation.
The polling place is the Pine Level Volunteer Fire Department, the same location where the incorporation vote was held.
Since the anticipated population of the Town of Pine Level will be about 400, it will have a mayor-council form of government with five council members and a mayor, according to the Alabama Bar Association, citing state code. A census of the town after the incorporation vote places the population at 398, Kervin said.
Municipalities under 12,000 population have that form of government, where the mayor serves as presiding officer of the council, according to the Alabama League of Municipalities. The mayor can vote on matters before the council, or reserve their vote to break ties, according to code.
The first election will have the mayor and council elected at large since there are no council districts, according to the Alabama League of Municipalities. Once the government is in place it can establish council districts and go about handling the business of a town.
The cost of the election and census will be paid by the original petitioners of incorporation, Kervin said.
On Sept. 26, voters approved the formation of the town, bu 16 votes, by a tally of 59 to 43.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Pine Level sets elections for first municipal government
