Aldermen adopted a policy last Tuesday, Nov. 4, that defines the process of filing for office and addresses the issue of candidates who are delinquent in payments for city services. Residents who file for office will be dealt with on a first-come, first-serve basis when they fill out the forms with City Clerk Chris McCormick. A candidate will also sign an affidavit stating they are not in arrears on any city bills. Should a candidate owe an outstanding balance to the city when filing closes, their name will be taken off the ballot. Candidate filing begins for the April election on Dec. 16 and closes on Jan. 20. The city has run into past problems where a candidate was not aware of an outstanding balance and their name had to be removed from the ballot. "The city's desire is to take away any issues of favoritism," Mayor Greg Costello said. Aldermen also set a policy for making videotaped city meetings available for purchase. A resident can purchase a DVD for $7.50. The city televises its aldermanic meetings on Channel 3 for those who have Charter Communications cable. The city will keep videotaped copies of a meeting for at least one year. Aldermen also unanimously approved employee policies which were presented at a workshop a week earlier. The policies, mostly dealing with personnel issues, will be printed in a handbook that will be distributed to each city employee. According to the policies, the city will deal with disciplining an employee with a written or verbal reprimand, suspension or termination. Costello said each employee will sign an agreement that they have received and read the handbook. "They will have a clear understanding of city employees and what is expected," he said. The approved policies followed some unrest caused by former city employees who spoke out at previous meetings questioning how their dismissal was acted upon. Alderman Jerry Cullom added: "This is nothing we haven't been doing. This is something that will be very useful for employees to have a copy of all of this." Aldermen also voted to move the city's checking accounts to First State Community Bank in Warrenton upon the recommendation of Terri Thorn, director of operations/finance officer. The city currently uses First Bank in Warrenton. Thorn said the city has been with its current banking institution over 10 years. Each bank in town received notice that the city was seeking bids and five submitted offers, Thorn noted. "First State Community Bank is the best value for the city," she said. "They are willing to give us all the services that we require, all at no fee, which is what we experience now with First Bank." Thorn also said First State Community Bank was willing to give each employee a free checking account to use should the city begin using direct deposit.