Officials sworn in at city council meeting

A productive city council meeting was held on Tuesday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall where three unopposed councilmen were re-elected and sworn in. The individuals were Brian Cloninger for district two, Larry Breshears for district four, and Randy Pennington for district three.

A new municipal judge, Sandra Savage, was also sworn in. She replaced the previous municipal judge, John Betts, who left the position open after his resignation. Savage was the associate judge prior to taking the position.

Judge Travis Ransom presented a check for $8,650.75 regarding the Child Safety Fee of 2024. The Child Safety Fee is a policy where the state gives the county the authority to collect $1.50 for every registered Texas vehicle in the county.

The county does not keep the money but instead passes it along to the city. The city then works with the school district on child safety programs such as school crossing guards, health and nutrition education, child abuse prevention and intervention, and drug and alcohol abuse prevention for children. Alternatively, the funds can be directed towards programs enhancing public safety and security.

According to Ransom, this had never been done before. “It generated about $38,000 in revenue through the county. We have a lot of cars—more cars than people in this county,” he joked. The money, however, is distributed throughout the cities within the county, with Atlanta’s allotment being the $8,650.75 presented on the check.

Brian Cloninger, Randy Pennington and Larry Breshears were unopposed councilmen during this last round of voting and each was sworn in last week.

Cass County Judge Travis Ransom presented a check to Atlanta Mayor James Brooks last week for

$8,650.75 regarding the Child Safety Fee.