Montgomery City Council hears concerns about shot fired at East Montgomery Little League Park

MONTGOMERY – Montgomery city parks need more security, a resident told the city council at their May 6 meeting.

Laurie Morris spoke to the city council about a shot that was fired at the East Montgomery Little League Park recently. Officials have said that the incident was the result of two women who were involved in an argument. One reportedly brought a firearm out that discharged as she was putting it away.

Police arrived at the scene 15 minutes later, but no arrests were made because there was no victim, and the officer did not witness the discharge.

“We need more protection in our parks,” Morris said. “I hate that we live in a time where guns are pulled out at little league games.”

She urged the council to consider passing an ordinance that ensures the “swift arrest and prosecution” of anyone who uses a weapon at a youth event, especially in city and county parks.

“This park is vital to our city,” she said. “If East Montgomery Park doesn’t survive, most kids won’t simply move to one of the other parks. They’ll be left without safe spaces to spend their time. And we know all too well what happens when that is the case.”

She further cautioned that homeless individuals might move into the park if it’s not secure.

City Councilor Julie Beard thanked Morris for her words and said that she was in contact with City Attorney Stacy Bellinger on a plan and suggested possibly reintroducing park rangers that would be present at parks at all times to keep the peace.

The city council also heard a financial report from Mayor Steven Reed via a recording because was attending an out-of-town conference.

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Growth for sales and use tax increased 3% in April over the previous year, Reed said. Collections totaled $412,586.

“The growth rate for this revenue source appears to be trending back to those of pre-Covid levels,” Reed stated. “Spending by citizens appears to be slowing down somewhat compared to the last two fiscal years.”

He said that this was due to inflation causing items to be more expensive than in 2024.

Lodging tax revenue increased 21% in April compared to 2024. Collections in March were 12% less than last year. Those figures were skewed because one of the larger hotels sent in its taxes for two months in April. This revenue stream year over year has a growth rate of nearly 5%, Reed said.

There was a growth rate of more than 8% in gasoline tax compared to last year.  

“It is great to see the gasoline tax revenue rebound from its previous fiscal year of virtually no growth,” he reported.

Alcohol tax revenue was at less than 1% “or nearly at break even” compared to the same period in 2024, Reed said. Year over year the growth rate has been almost 7%.

“The budget process for the finance department has already commenced for the fiscal year 2026,” Reed said. Department heads will have access to their budgets in a couple of weeks in order to provide ample time for completion of their departmental budgets.”

The Montgomery City Council meets at 5 p.m. every first and third Tuesday of the month at City Hall on 103 North Perry Street. Recordings of meetings can be found on YouTube and Facebook. Agendas can be found here.