COLONY — The new Colony town council and mayor said Tuesday night that it was time for them to “move forward’ after a contentious first month. That didn’t mean some issues were easily laid to rest, though.

The issue of Town Clerk Patricia Ponder’s work hours was unresolved, but council members said they would bring the issue back up at the next meeting on Dec. 15. Mayor Curtis Johnson had previously tried to fire Ponder but was unable to do so without a vote of the council. The council has been split with new members Jasmine Cole and Mary Louise Parker voting with the mayor and Ethel Alexander, Samuel Ashford and new councilman Eric Carwell often voting against them.

Carwell addressed the split at Tuesday’s meeting. “We don’t have to agree on everything, but we have to agree on some things,” he said. “If we don’t, we won’t get anything done.”

Town resident Gwendolyn Purifoy agreed. “You’re supposed to be working together as a body,” she told them.

Carwell said some of the conflict comes from one side or the other not adhering to state or local laws. “There’s protocol that needs to be followed. It’s not just the mayor, it’s us,” he said.

He asked residents what they wanted and was told better communication and transparency.

Carwell, who serves as the commissioner over finance, said he would make sure the town’s budget and spending is available for residents to review.

“I’m going to give you the transparency you want and the answers you need,” he said.

During the meeting, Johnson had to gavel down discussion from the council and residents and found himself defending $500 spent on an attorney to advise him last month on the issue of Ponder’s employment with the town. Johnson said the funds came from the mayor’s discretionary account, which allows the mayor to spend up to $500 without the council’s approval.

Attorney Louis Willie III said he was advising the mayor in his role as “CEO of the town.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time to help the mayor get on his feet as CEO of this town,” he said. He said he has long been interested in Colony and would like to provide municipal attorney services for the town going forward.

Carwell said his concern was that Johnson spent the $500 without informing the council. “Transparency is key,” he said. “I’d like to ask that all receipts for any purchases or spending be emailed to me or placed in my box. We should be able to show where the money is spent.”

Johnson countered that Carwell and Alexander should have gotten approval from the town for millage reimbursement for a recent trip to Montgomery.

“It should have come before the council, in my opinion,” said Johnson. He also said that in the past large checks were issued without his knowledge. Johnson served a term on the council before being elected mayor in August.

Residents who came before the council said too often they’re not receiving information from the town, including distribution of items funded through the CARES Act, community work days and other town events.

They suggested the town consider a newsletter, post information on Facebook and let the churches know of activities.

They also asked that the council and mayor work better together. “Don’t work against each other, work together,” said Margaret Dimbo.

“We have spent basically an entire month trying to deal with the issues that we just got through discussing,” said Carwell. “But we are going to move forward. Now that we’ve discussed those issues and laid some things to rest, we can move forward. There was no way possible for us to move forward without laying those issues to rest.””

The council approved several agenda items, including continuing their membership in the Cullman County Mayors Association, the Alabama Caucus of Black Mayors and the Arbor Day Foundation.

The council also agreed to move their next meeting from the week of Christmas to next Tuesday, Dec. 15. The work session will begin at 5 p.m. with the regular meeting to follow.