How the Indian Springs Village Government Works
Elected Officials and City Boards and Town Hall Meetings
Indian Springs Village is a unique municipality in many respects. We are a Mayor/ Council form of Government. There are five council members who are elected at large. We have town hall meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month. The meetings are open to anyone and our residents are allowed to attend and contribute to council discussions concerning all town business. Among the more unique aspects of the way the Indian Springs Village government works is that our elected officials have, since the inception of the town, served without compensation. Not only do our elected officials work on a non-paid basis, but the chairperson and board members of our Planning and Zoning Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment and our city attorney also serve on a purely volunteer basis.
Many have compared our town hall meetings to the old fashioned New England town hall meetings portrayed in old movies. This is especially true in light of the fact that the building that is our Town Hall is the former McClellan home. Once a “dog trot” style farm house built in the 1800’s, it is one of the oldest homes in the valley and is on the State of Alabama Historic Register.
Shortly after our town was incorporated, the McClellan family made the house and the three acres upon which it rests, available to the town to purchase as a town hall. With the help of many volunteers and a small budget, using great care to preserve its historic character, the home was converted to our Town Hall. Even the pot bellied stove that warmed the living area when the home was a farm house remains in our Town Hall meeting room and the old well and hand pump, from which the McClellan family drew water, greet those approaching the front entrance.
City Employees
The administrative needs of our residents concerning building permits, business licenses and other matters are handled by our city’s single employee, our part time city clerk. Our city clerk maintains an office in the Town Hall with posted office hours which are available on this web site.
Fire and Police Protection
Indian Springs Village is in the North Shelby Fire District and enjoys the protection of some of the best trained and most dedicated full time professional first responders in our state.
The incident of serious crime in our city is one of the lowest in the state of Alabama. This is due to the vigilance of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office which serves and protects all of Shelby County as well as our city. Indian Springs Village contracts with the Sheriff’s Office for additional protection services beyond routine patrols and for school resource officers at our public schools.
Fiscally Sound – No municipal sales or municipal property tax in Indian Springs Village
State law provides that our city is entitled to a variety of taxes which are already paid to and collected by the State and County. Since the city was first incorporated in 1991, our elected officials have pledged to the residents of Indian Springs Village that the funds received from these taxes would be used judiciously at all times and that our city would attempt to avoid the levy of any taxes by the city in the form of sales or property taxes. Our elected officials have not only remained true to that pledge but have, through careful financial decisions and planning, along with the absence of salaries for elected and appointed officials, been able to remain debt free and save for our future without the need to add to the tax burden of our residents.
We are very proud of the dedication of the resident volunteers and elected officials who over the years, through our unique manner of government i.e. all volunteer, have given their time to protect, preserve and defend the beauty and tranquility that is the hallmark of Indian Springs Village.