A new municipal judge will hold court at the City of Hanceville, after the Hanceville City Council appointed Cullman attorney Heath Meherg to the position at its recent regular meeting.

Born and raised in Cullman, Meherg is a partner at Cullman’s Griffith, Lowry, & Meherg, LLC law firm. He also has a local background serving as a municipal attorney, including his 2012-2015 stint as the first in-house attorney for the Cullman County Commission.

As Hanceville’s municipal judge, Meherg will preside over city court sessions, which meet twice each month. With Mayor Jimmy Sawyer and other city officials witnessing, Meherg was sworn in as Hanceville’s new judge during a small ceremony at city hall on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

Meherg’s term at Hanceville began on Nov. 2, and will extend for two years.

In other business at its regular meeting, the council:

• Held a review discussion, but took no action on, the city’s ordinance (Ord. 625) setting forth rates of pay for the mayor and council member positions. Should the council act at a future meeting to change the pay rate for any of the city’s elected positions, the changes would not apply to the currently-seated council. Rather, the changes would, by law, take effect only after a new administration has been elected. The city’s next municipal election will be held in the summer of 2025.
• Approved the surplus and disposal of a non-functioning vacuum cleaner owned by the city.
• Tabled a motion to purchase a software agreement for computer software used by the city’s fire department for fire and emergency medical services call reporting.

The next regular meeting of the Hanceville City Council will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14 in the council meeting room at Hanceville City Hall. A public 5 p.m. work session will precede the meeting at the same location.