The Clanton City Council held a moment of silence to honor Building Inspector Rick Russell prior to Monday’s meeting.

Russell, 54, died July 27 at Clanton City Hall near the end of the business day. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

“We lost one of our good employees between the last meeting and today — unexpectedly,” Mayor Billy Joe Driver said prior to the moment of silence.

In the short meeting that followed, the council approved hiring Casey Martin to work full-time in the streets department and to hire Freddie Mayfield to work part-time with the police department at $12 an hour.

Mayfield, who retired as a detective with the department in July, has several cases pending in court, Police Chief Brian Stilwell said.

Stilwell estimated Mayfield has 100 or more cases that have come before grand juries recently — many of which will require him to testify in court.

Mayfield will also be able to fill in periodically for officers who have to be out, Stilwell said.

Driver announced the council will start working on next year’s budget in coming weeks.