ATHENS, AL (WAFF) -
The mayor of Athens stopped a program before it started.
The city got a lot of calls protesting the Round Up Plan, where money from utility bills would go to a community grant fund.
Mayor Ronnie Marks used an executive order to stop the program - an action not taken by an Athens mayor for decades.
The program would have helped fund non-profit organizations that benefit Limestone County.
The way it would have worked, customers' utility bills would be rounded up to the next dollar, and the difference would go to the community grant fund.
The city council passed the measure last week, but calls came flooding into City Hall, people against the idea, so Marks put the program on hold.
"The mayor was looking at possibly delaying that until April 1st, but then he just decided because of all the calls we were receiving, and there wasn't just confusion. Some people felt like I give to my own charities, and utilities shouldn't be deciding where this money should be going. The mayor decided to just suspend it altogether," said City of Athens spokesperson, Holly Hollman.
The way it would have worked, people would have had to opt out to not be a part of the Round Up Program.
The city may bring it back, but residents would have to opt IN instead.
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The city got a lot of calls protesting the Round Up Plan, where money from utility bills would go to a community grant fund.
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