Trustmark Bank President Andy Stewart spoke at the Valley Grande City Council meeting on Monday night.

Stewart discussed the possibility of Valley Grande bringing its bank account to the Bank. Valley Grande City Clerk Janet Frasier said she talked with Stewart and Trustmark Treasurer Sharon Patterson several days ago.

Stewart talked about the benefits of an account at Trustmark, including an Interest Banking Platform, a credit card system, fraud protection service and remote deposit checking.

“We deal with a lot of public funds,” Stewart said. “The interest banking platform can be used for audit and council meetings. It has a lot of functions.  We have an ACH network to protect accounts. It costs $35 a month.  Janet would put the account in auto draft.  Anything not approved, she gets an alert. There’s a $139 setup fee for the credit card service and $15 a month.  A remote deposit check is a $300 scanner the bank pays for.”

Stewart also discussed collateralizing funds, a process that a bank must have a certain amount of capital aside.

Valley Grande Mayor Matt Dobbs told Stewart that the council would look at the possibility of joining Trustmark. It was the only new business in the 32-minute council meeting.

Dobbs said the city’s audit has been completed and the report will be unveiled in a few months. He expects a positive report.

Councilman Lamar Morgan said discussions are continuing with Lt. John Hatfield of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) about acquiring a drug dog for the city. The next step will have Hatfield speak before the council.

“I’d like to hear from them when the time comes about how much a drug dog will cost,” Dobbs said. “It’ll give us time to see where we are.”

Valley Grande Sports Coordinator Bubba Holley said registration for baseball and softball got underway last week. He said 81 have registered for the upcoming season.  Registration will continue Thursday and Friday from 5-9 p.m. at Valley Grande City Hall.

The next Valley Grande City Council meeting will be held on Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. at Valley Grande City hall.