Beardstown council adopts salary changes for elected officials and adds a Class C liquor endorsement

Beardstown City Council on Oct. 8 adopted an ordinance amending Chapter 2, Article III of the city code (officer salaries) and separately approved increasing the number of Class “I-2” endorsements for Class C liquor licenses from eight to nine.

The ordinance changing elected-officials' salaries passed by a 5–1 roll-call vote; the yeas were Alderpersons Lisa Buhlig, Ron Culves, Mary Davis, Eric Harbin and Keith Schramm; Alderperson Dawn Seward voted no. The liquor-license endorsement increase also passed by a 5–1 roll-call vote; the yeas were Culves, Davis, Harbin, Schramm and Seward, and Buhlig voted no. Aldermen Chris Baer and Shawn Taylor were absent for both votes.

The salary ordinance covers multiple sections of Chapter 2, Article III, including mayor, city treasurer, aldermen/alderwomen, city clerk/city collector and meeting fees. The council did not provide ordinance numbers or set specific dollar amounts in the public minutes; the ordinance text was described generically in the motion recorded in the minutes.

Council members split on the two measures: Seward opposed the salary ordinance while Buhlig opposed the liquor-endorsement increase. The minutes record the votes and that both measures were adopted; the record does not show public comment or extended debate on either ordinance.

Next steps: the ordinances were adopted at the Oct. 8 meeting and will be recorded in the city’s ordinance register; the minutes note the absentee members but do not list implementation dates or effective dates for the salary changes or the license-count change.