Don Hall’s wife, Debbie, was by his side as he was officially sworn in as Hartselle’s new Mayor, Monday, Nov. 5, by Hartselle City Attorney Larry Madison. In his first meeting as mayor, Hall was joined by council members Bill Smelser, Kenny Thompson, Tom Chappell, and newcomers, Mike Roberson and Ken Doss, who were also all sworn in at the meeting. Smelser was appointed as Council President, and Thompson as President Pro Tempore.

“I consider this as a privilege to serve as your mayor,” Hall said. “We don’t take this lightly.”

Hall follows Mayor Dwight Tankersley, who announced earlier in the year that he would not seek a third term as mayor.

Smelser thanked Tankersley at the meeting saying he had a deep love for the city of Hartselle and it showed in his serve.

“To our outgoing mayor, Dwight had loved this city almost as much as he loves [his wife] Jenny. Almost,” Smelser said as the crowd stood and applauded.

Madison also swore in the first elected school board members for Hartselle City Schools including, Dr. James Joy, Monty Vest, Randy Sparkman, Jennifer Sittason, and Venita Jones.

The new city council took the following actions:

• Reappointed the following positions: Rita Lee as City Clerk; Ron Puckett as Police Chief; Steve Shelton as Fire Chief; Larry Madison as City Attorney; Mike Broom as Municipal Judge; and David Langston as Municipal Prosecutor.

• Authorized he City Clerk-Controller to continue to use current depositories for the City of Hartselle municipal funds.

• Established that the time and place for regular city council meetings will be at 7 p.m. at City Hall on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.

• Authorizes city officials to sign checks on all accounts, requiring at least two signatures on all checks.