A motion was not approved to increase funds to the Chilton County Humane Society during the Chilton County Commission meeting Monday.

In a 4-2 vote, commissioners Shannon Welch, Greg Moore, Joe Headley and Commission Chairman Allen Caton voted against a motion that would increase funding to the shelter for $7,000 for the current fiscal year.

Commissioners Bobby Agee and Heedy Hayes voted in favor of the motion with Tim Mims absent from the meeting.

Agee said he wanted to bring up a resolution to increase funding for the Chilton County Humane Society for the fiscal year that would end in October by taking funds from the Trade School and Industrial and Rural Development Fund.

Agee told commissioners he had spoken with commission attorney John Hollis Jackson prior to the meeting about the possibility of funds being used from the Trade School and Industrial and Rural Development Fund.

Agee said the humane society had told commissioners they needed $30,000 a year from the commission to meet adequate funds.

“If we increase the $12,901 we are already giving the humane society each year by $7,000 then we are bringing this fiscal year up to $20,000,” Agee said.

Headley asked Agee if the recent vote from commissioners to increase the county data processing fee from $5 to $5.25 would also be included in the increase.

Agee said he thought the $7,000 increase would take care of the current fiscal year with the rest of the money from the data processing fee (if approved) going toward the next fiscal year.

Caton said if the local bill was passed in Montgomery to increase the data processing fee the humane society could start seeing a monetary increase as early as April.

Commissioner Heedy Hayes reminded everyone the bill might not be passed and it was hard to continue hearing people from the county being required to pay $40 to drop off an animal at the humane society.

“If you are from the city and you drop off an animal you don’t have to pay,” Hayes said. “The people from outside the city limits are just as important to me. If the shelter wants the county to get up to $30,000 then we need to get to that goal. I want to see everyone treated the same.”

Caton said if the humane society received a 55-percent increase in their budget then the rest of the departments would have to be increased.

“We told all of the departments throughout the county that once our revenue came in we would go back and look at everyone’s department and increase everyone’s department,” Caton said. “We can’t increase one department without increasing everyone.”

Agee said 55 percent of the humane society compared to 55 percent of the sheriff’s department or the road department was “out of bounds.”

“We aren’t talking about a whole lot of money here,” Agee said. “We have done it in the past.”

Four residents who live on County Road 46 addressed the commission about road and bridge issues causing them concern.

Caton told the residents the commission would hear the concerns but would not debate any issue or take any action (if needed) until the upcoming commission meeting when it would become an agenda item.

Linda Dunlevy told commissioners she was upset about fence posting that had been torn down near her family farm as work was being done to repave the road.