Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During the regular meeting of the Greenville Town Council, on Tuesday, Oct. 12, the council voted, on a split vote, to renew a contract with Town Manager Lee Jones. Included in the contract, is a raise in salary from the current $80,000 per year to $100,000 per year. This figure is the base salary, which does not include benefits, such as insurance, retirement, etc. The contract also includes a provision for the reimbursement for costs and expenses, not to exceed $250 per month. Any more than that would require prior approval from the council. Under the contract, Jones will be a full-time employee of the Town of Greenville and will be given the freedom to set his own hours as necessary to complete his assigned duties. When the council voted on the contract, the motion was passed on a 4-1 vote, with Council Member Barbara Dansey casting the dissenting vote. Mayor Brittni Brown expressed dismay that the vote was not unanimous and asked Dansey to change her vote. Dansey stated she would not change her vote, stating the reason for her dissenting vote was her opposition to the salary rate for Jones. The contract is for a time period of five years and calls for possible future pay increases on a yearly basis.
The council also voted to continue to use the legal services of attorney John Reid. The contract for Reid calls for Reid to be paid an hourly rate of $125 per hour for work done for the town. If Reid is called upon for “litigation, mediation and/or arbitration,” the rate is $250 per hour.
During the meeting, Jones informed the council that approximately $206,000 in funding from the American Rescue Plan would be heading to the Town of Greenville. Jones told the council that one of the provisions of the Act allows for payments to people who were economically damaged by the pandemic, in addition to this, money can be used for water and sewer projects. There was discussion regarding the work needed on the town's water tower, which is in need of painting. The painting of the water tower is not only for cosmetic purposes, but is needed to ensure safe water for the community. Council member Brandi Tillman brought up the fact that there are three water pumps that are in desperate need of replacing. At this point, Council Member Kathleen Hamilton said she thought money should be given directly to town utility customers. Hamilton recommended $50, but Tillman suggested $100. There was generally favorable consensus among the council members for this proposal, although no formal motion or vote was taken during the meeting. When asked if this would be a direct payment or a credit on customers' utility bills, Mayor Brown said it would be in the form of checks, written to the customers. The customers would be free to spend the money in any way they wished. Mayor Brown said only those customers with accounts since March of 2020 would be eligible for the direct payments and only residential customers would receive checks. The number of customers to receive checks is approximately 300, which would cost approximately $30,000. Council Member Calvin Malone suggested that the water tower and pumps should be taken care of before checks were sent out. A local citizen in attendance echoed that sentiment, asking if an exact amount of the cost of water tower repairs and pump replacement had been determined. Jones assured the citizen there was enough money to take care of the tower and the pumps, with enough left for the direct payments. Jones did follow his statement up with, “I hope.” Mayor Brown insisted the checks be sent out before the end of the month. Brown's sister, Council Member Tillman and Council Member Hamilton are both up for re-election on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
There was discussion regarding a proposed group of volunteers to help clean up Evergreen Cemetery, in Greenville. Jones said that, because of liability issues, it would be better if citizens informed town staff of any concerns they may have in regards to clean up around the common areas of the cemetery.
The next regular meeting of the Greenville Town Council is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in Greenville Town Hall, located at 154 Old Mission Ave., in Greenville.