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When the Brundidge City Council met Tuesday, there was a new member at the council table.

Prior to the council’s regular meeting at 5 p.m., Brundidge Municipal Judge Don Dickert swore Michelle Griffin into office as the council member from District 2. Griffin was appointed by the council to complete the term of her dad, Arthur Lee Griffin, who died in November. Griffin served on the Brundidge City Council for 27 years.

Michelle Griffin’s first official act on the council was to vote on the finalization of the city’s FY2020 budget. The council unanimously voted to finalize the FY2020 budget at a total of $9 million.

The council also voted unanimously in favor of a 5 percent raise for the city’s 48 employees. The total amount of the raise will be around $94,000, Mayor Isabell Boyd said.

The council appointed District 3 Council Member Margaret Ross as mayor pro tempore, the position was previously held by the late Arthur Lee Griffin.

Boyd said she is looking forward to working with Council Member Griffin and with Ross as mayor pro tempore.

“Michelle is young and will bring new ideas to the council and will have a different perspective to share,” Boyd said. “Margaret will have a different role on the council and I’m sure she will fill it well.”

The mayor informed the council that the city has received a 2020 Census Outreach grant in the amount of $5,642.

“We are very appreciative on the grant,” Boyd said. “It will be used to advertise the 2020 census with hopes of reaching people about the importance of the census to Brundidge and to reach people who are not familiar with the forms and the use of computers. It is also a way to let people know that the 2020 United States Census can be trusted. There are so many incidents of identity theft now that people are skeptical about giving out their personal information. We want to encourage our citizens to respond to the census because it is important to Brundidge and its future.”

The council voted to give city employees holidays on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

“The city will be open for business on Thursday, December 26,” Boyd said.

The council recessed until December 10 to discuss the ambulance contract.

“The ambulance contract is very important to Brundidge and to all Pike County,” Boyd said. “We want to make the best decision for all of us.”