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WEST POINT — The West Point City Council will meet for the first time in 2020 with one of the topics of conversation focusing on getting their share of services from Troup County.

The council will discuss bringing on a consultant to evaluate and examine services delivered by Troup County in exchange for property taxes being paid. West Point Mayor Steve Tramell said every 10 years an agreement between the county, LaGrange, Hogansville and West Point is made about what services will be delivered.

“We are proposing to hire a consultant to come and look over everything here and tell us what we should expect and what we should be getting,” he said.

Tramell mentioned services such as countywide court services and a taxpayer-supported library.

The Hogansville Public Library and the LaGrange Public Library are both supported partially by Troup County property taxes. Tramell said West Point does not have a tax-supported library. 

Tramell said Hogansville has plans to hire the same consultant to examine services delivered there as well.

“We need a professional to make sure we are getting what we should be getting,” he said.

Tramell said the agreement only requires the county and two cities to sign off to make the agreement official. However, he said West Point and Hogansville would be working together.

“We are both doing this because we are the small players in town,” Tramell said.

West Point has an estimated population of 3,500 people, and Hogansville has a slightly smaller estimated number of 3,060. LaGrange has an estimated population of 29,588.

Also, on Thursday night, city leaders will appoint a new mayor pro-tem. This person would serve as mayor whenever Tramell is unable to execute his duties. Currently, councilman Joseph Downs III is the pro-tem. The appointment will require council approval.

The council will also vote to keep city attorney Jeff Todd, municipal judge Wesley Leonard and municipal judge pro-tem Benjamin Wilcox.

Tramell said he doesn’t expect any changes to the appointments.

The city is also looking to fill several board and committee seats. Although the city will have three applicants for seats to discuss Thursday, Tramell said many seats still need people to fill them. He said it’s as easy as coming to city hall to fill out an application.

“It is tough getting people interested,” he said.

Another item of note will be a discussion about moving the disposal of the city’s biosolids to a landfill in Alabama. According to city documents, the city experienced a 130 percent increase in landfill costs for disposing of items.

Documents say the city could see at least a 50 percent reduction in costs by entering into this new contract in Alabama.