The Greenwood City Council met in a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday evening, January 4 at 7 p.m. Members present included Rod Powell, Tim Terry, A.C. Brown Jr., and Ralph Meeker. Councilmen Daniel McDaniel and Lance Terry were absent.
After approving the minutes from the December meeting, the council moved on to agenda items. Mayor Doug Kinslow recognized the street and parks department for their hard work in making the city look festive throughout the holiday season.
In committee reports, the council reviewed submissions by the Boys and Girls Club, the SRCA, parks commission, and water/waste water commission.
Greenwood District Court Judge Michael Wagoner was present at the meeting to administer the oath of office to aldermen Meeker, Powell and Tim Terry.
Next, the financial report was presented by Finance Director, Thomas Marsh. Marsh noted that the city sales and use tax ended 16.1% above last year. Marsh also added that the county sales tax was also up 5.5% over last year. He concluded that this would have an effect on the funds available for the 2021 budget. “The good news is that the rate increase we’ve experienced as far as city sales tax is phenomenal…,” Marsh stated. Adding that the city’s financials were “healthy.” The council agreed to set a study session to discuss the budget on Wednesday, January 13 at 6 p.m.
The next item on the agenda, matters of new business. The motion was made to approve the resolution adopting procedural rules. The motion carried unanimously. The next item of new business, an amendment to Resolution 120-29, salary schedule adding positions to the street and fire departments. The motion was made to adopt the amendment, and it carried unanimously.
In the last item of new business, a resolution accepting and appropriating CARES ACT grant awards. The City of Greenwood received $354,658 from the CARES Act grant for payroll reimbursements due to COVID-19. The funds will help “defray the expenses incurred by the city because of the public health emergency.” Those funds, which were a dollar for dollar reimbursement, were non-restricted and deposited into the city’s general fund. “This is wonderful news, we held it back for a little bit until we got it,” stated Mayor Kinslow. In addition to the reimbursement, the city also received an A&P grant for $2,000.
The council then reviewed and discussed departmental reports. Plans for the Greenwood bypass dominated the discussion.
With no other items on the agenda, the motion was made to adjourn the meeting of the Greenwood City Council.
