Kilmichael mayor Bryan Lott is in his first year as mayor. Lott was elected in 2021 succeeding longtime mayor Bobby Howell. Before becoming mayor, Lott served as an alderman for the town. He said its different going from sitting around the table to presiding at the head of the table.
“Yes, very much so,” he said. “I’d like to think of myself as just another alderman that gets to decide the day to day operations. I never make a big decision without my aldermen.” He said even though he can’t make decision without them, it can feel like the weight of that decision is on his shoulders.
“But, I’m just another member of the board. I act as a mediator between the citizens and the board and have to find a resolution for everything,” he said.
Lott said right now, other than work being done on a ditch in town, the project doesn’t have any major projects in the works.
Last year, the Town of Kilmichael paved streets and switched from manual read meters to automated meters. He said this year’s budget items are the
normal working day to day items.
Lott said that he feels the first year in office has went well, in spite of the rising costs of gas and other items.
“I think it’s went well. I have a lot to learn but I’m working at it. Gas increases and other things are trying to squeeze the budget but all in all, I think it’s went well,” Lott said.
He said the community has been welcoming and receptive of him in office. “As far as I know. I have not heard of any negative comments,” he said.
Lott said there are situations throughout the year that he may look back on and say “well maybe I could handle that differently,” but all in all it’s been a good year and he’s looking forward to the next one.
He said if there was one thing that he wish Kilmichael could get is a small factory or even a nice size restaurant.
“I know we don’t have the workforce for a huge factory. But, a small one so that it can be a place where our citizens can work and not have to travel outside of the realm of Kilmichael to go find work. I’d take the factory over the restaurant,” Lott said.
