Piedmont residents complain to State about city government

Not everyone is happy with the leadership in the city of piedmont,  with some residents taking  their dissatisfaction to Montgomery.  Mayor Rick Freeman addressed the widespread citizen complaints Tuesday during a piedmont city council meeting saying if citizens have a problem they need to come talk to him and not taking their complaint to Montgomery saying it is making the city look bad.  Freeman said the state capitol has received many complaints concerning Piedmont, most of them against the mayor. The mayor said  residents are unhappy that city employees have been given an extra day off for holidays like Christmas and New Year’s, and that they were given Christmas bonuses which the mayor said came from his own pocket.  There is also some disagreement on the city council itself.  The Council voted tuesday to pay about $441,000 in bills, with councilwoman Brenda Spears voting against the motion.  Spears telling the mayor that he has asked several times to have the budget amended and have some cost-saving measures.  Freeman said the city’s new budget will be implemented in October, and includes  steps to reduce costs including changing the cities telephone carrier which the mayor claims should save a couple thousand dollars a month.