Greene County Democrat

Tag: Police Chief Tommy Johnson

  • Eutaw City Council agrees to declare the R. H. Young Community Center as surplus, as a step toward sale of the property

    Police Officer Tyler Johnson named ‘Officer of the Year” . L to R. are Councilwoman Tracey Hunter, Police Chief Tommy Johnson, Councilwoman Valerie Watkins, Officer Tyler Johnson, Mayor Latasha Johnson, Councilwoman Suzette Powell, and Councilman Jonathan Woodruff.

     

    By John Zippert, Co-Publisher

    In response to financial and budgetary pressures, the Eutaw City Council met on December 10, Dec. 17 and in a working session on December 12, to deal with several issues related to the projected deficit in the current Fiscal Year (2024-25) finances. Mayor Latasha Johnson and the Eutaw City Council differ on the best approaches to the financial problems.

    Councilmembers led by Jonathan Woodruff and Tracey Hunter feel the city must curb expenses, layoff workers and sell properties that are not financially sustainable, to avoid deficits. The Mayor argues that she has faith the city will grow and provide new revenues to sustain the workforce, make necessary improvements and hold on to properties like the R. H. Young Community Center. Mayor Johnson also argues that the mayor oversees “day-to-day operations”, which includes hiring and firing of employees to accomplish the on-going tasks of city administration.

    The Council voted unanimously at its December 17 meeting to declare the Robert H. Young Community Center as surplus property, so it can be sold. The City of Eutaw purchased the school from the Greene County Board of Education for $200,000 in the prior city administration of Raymond Steele. The Council’s intention was to develop the former Carver School as a community center, with spaces rented to community organizations and small businesses. While the school, especially the gymnasium has been used for meetings and funerals, the facility has not generated enough income to pay utility, maintenance and repair costs.

    The Mayor stated the city needs a community center and the Greene County Commission may be interested in buying the facility or working together with the city in its development as a community center for all county residents. Councilman Woodruff says, “There is a lack of trust between the city and county because the county did not honor its commitment to put up $70,000 for the matching funds for the Street Scape
    Project to remodel the sidewalks around the old Courthouse Square in downtown Eutaw.”

    Woodruff continued, “We are willing to sell the property to the County at its current appraised value, but I do not think we can work together with them since we have financial problems and no funds for a community center.” Many community residents feel the best way to proceed would be a joint effort of the city and the county seeking public and private grant funds to develop a comprehensive community center out of the old Carver school.

    The City of Eutaw was able to borrow funds from Merchants and Farmers Bank to cover the shortfalls in matching funds for the Street Scape and West End Avenue repaving projects. The City committed funds from its State of Alabama 4-cent and 7-cent roadway repair funds to repay the loan.

    The Mayor presented a revised fiscal year 2024-25 fiscal budget, where she moved expenses around from some funding to repair the old E-911 building and a fund to purchase or repair police vehicles to be able to retain all current staff. The Council voted not to accept the Mayor’s budget revisions and approved the original budget which requires layoff or not replacing vacancies in the street, water, sewer and administrative departments.

    The Mayor voted against this resolution and said the budget was a plan that could be revised based on needs. She asserted that she oversaw day-to-day operations and as long as her spending was within the budget requirements, she could keep staff needed to operate the city. Councilmembers Woodruff and Hunter said they would continue to monitor and evaluate the budget, expenses and the staffing of city departments. This remains as an area of disagreement between the mayor and the council.

    The Mayor said that the city attorney was working on negotiating an agreement with Alabama Fiber Network to sell them a 50 by 50-foot space to place their “middle mile broadband equipment” to facilitate expansion of fiber Internet access in the city and county. The legal paperwork for this sale will be provided by the attorney, for approval by the council, at a future meeting.

    A payment of budgeted support funding to E-911 was tabled until after the city receives its allocation of property taxes in January. E-911 provides dispatch services for city agencies like the police and ambulance services.

    In other business, the Eutaw City Council:

    • Approved travel for Police Chief Tommy Johnson to attend the AACOP Winter Conference in Montgomery on February 9-13, 2025.
    • Approved $150 membership dues for City Attorney, Zane Willingham, for the Alabama Association of Municipal Attorneys.

    • Tabled repairs to a manhole behind Ms. Suzzette Quinnie’s property until the ownership of the sewer line can be documented between the City and the Greene County Housing Authority.

    • Heard a presentation from Lamar Martin, of the Secure Wellness Group on a Self-Insured Medical Reimbursement Plan for city employees. The Council voted to provide information for a payroll census, without personal information, so he could develop a plan for the City of Eutaw and
    present it at a future meeting.

    Mayor Johnson indicated that City Hall would be closed on December 24 and 25, 2024, December 31, 2024 at 12:00 Noon and January 1, 2025, for the holidays.

  • Eutaw City Council raises pay for police department

    At its regular meeting on March 12, 2024, the Eutaw City Council agreed to a budget adjustment to increase the pay of police officers based on their years of experience working with the city.

    This action was in response to a concern raised by Police Chief Tommy Johnson that four officers had left the staff since the beginning of the calendar year because they received offers of higher pay from neighboring police departments.

    “Our starting salary of $15.00 an hour was too low to attract or keep trained officers,” said Chief Johnson. The mayor also indicated that the police department was currently paying overtime pay rates to officers to cover all required shifts.

    Council members, Jonathan Woodruff and Tracey Hunter, who are members of the Council Finance Committee, proposed an adjustment to the budget, which would raise the base pay, for police officers who completed training to $17.00 an hour ($35,360 annually), with one to five years’ experience. The salary for officers with 6 to 10 years’ experience would be increased to $18.00 an hour ($37,440 annually). For officers with more than 10 years, the pay rate was increased to $19.00 an hour ($39,520 annually)

    The Chief of Police will continue to receive $65,000 annually The Assistant Chief was raised to $22.00 an hour or $45,760 annually. There may be some other adjustments based on years of service. There were no cadets budgeted for this fiscal year, which created the budgetary savings to allow the increased salaries, within the current budget for this fiscal year.

    Chief Johnson said he would be able to recruit new replacement officers at the new pay rate but still urged further increases to allow for retention of capable and experienced personnel.

    The Council tabled action on setting rates for rental of the R. H. Young Community Center (formerly Carver School) since City Attorney, Zane Willingham, who helped draft the rates, was away attending a conference for municipal attorneys.

    At its prior meeting on February 27, 2024, the Council voted to change the check signers on all city accounts in Merchants and Farmers Bank. There will be two signatories, on each check, of three signers: Council members: Tracey Hunter and Jonathan Woodruff and Chief Clerk, SheKelvia Spencer. This action removed Mayor Latasha Johnson, as a check signer.

    The Mayor indicated some displeasure and disagreement with being removed from check signing but said she would abide by the Council’s decision, if they made sure to sign checks on a timely basis as needed.
    The Mayor said, “No money is missing, nothing is hidden, no money has been mis-spent. We have an audit that shows that we are financially stable and following our budget. In the past, we did not have our finances in good condition, but now under my leadership we do. There is no reason to remove me as a check signer.”

    In other actions, the Eutaw City Council:

    • Approved a resolution to allow the mayor to seek bids to renovate the restrooms at City Hall.

    • Approved a retail liquor license for Madi Food Mart, which plans to re-open a closed convenience store on Greensboro Avenue in Eutaw.

    • Approved travel for several city officials to attend upcoming conferences and training.

    • Received financial reports from Ralph Liverman, Fiscal Adviser, on bank accounts and loan balances. This included a report that 29 monthly payments had been made on the City’s four-year, equipment loan of $500,370, with 19 payments totaling $206,198 remaining to be paid. This monthly expenditure is included in the budget.

    • Received a report from the Chamber of Commerce that they received a $5,000 grant for a mural to be painted on the wall of a building in downtown Eutaw.

    • Approved payment of bills.

    The meeting ended with a discussion of the need to keep the streets of Eutaw clean and that some people were dumping trash and other waste materials at the side of the road and in ditches in the city. The mayor stated that she would work with residents and businesses to keep the areas around their homes and workspaces clean. Lorenzo French suggested involving young people in the clean-up efforts, so they would help maintain the clean streets and areas of the city.

  • Eutaw City Council meets to handle financial matters

    By: John Zippert, Co-Publisher

    Most of November 14, 2023, meeting of the Eutaw City Council was devoted to financial matters and a review of the revised budget for the Fiscal Year October 1,2023 to September 30, 2024. Three City Council members: Larrie Coleman, Valerie Watkins and Jacqueline Stewart and Mayor Latasha Johnson were present.

    The first item considered was leasing of a new 2023 John Deere Cab Tractor for 5 years, from Sun South LLC for $96,852, with 60 monthly payments of $1,926, a five-year warranty and a $1.00 buyout at the end of the lease. Mayor Johnson said it was critical for the city to get a new tractor for grass cutting. The old tractor is often in the shop and costs more to repair than the monthly lease on a new tractor.

    Councilwoman Valerie Watkins said she was reluctant to vote for a major capital expenditure without studying the revised budget to make sure funds were available. Financial Adviser Ralph Liverman explained some changes that he had made to the budget to meet state requirements and said the funds for the new tractor were included in the budget, along with other road and street improvements.

    Liverman said he reduced the General Fund budget by $300,000 for the new fiscal year, because the City was no long receiving funds from electronic bingo. “If these funds are restored, you can place them in the Capital Improvements Fund and fix more city roads and bridges.

    Liverman also said he reduced the General Fund by $450,000 to account for being required, by the State of Alabama, to move these funds to a new separate bank account. He indicated that the funds could be used for street and road improvements and that he had also moved some expenditures for road projects from the General Fund to this new fund for the local gas tax. Liverman also indicated that the city’s share of local gas tax collection increased from $70,000 to over $400,000 annually, since Love’s Truck and Travel Center was operating in Eutaw.

    After this discussion, it was moved by Councilwoman Stewart and seconded by Councilman Coleman to lease the tractor. The motion passed 3 to 1 with the Mayor’s vote in favor. A resolution was also approved to contract for Living Water Services to handle operations and analytical services for the City of Eutaw Lagoon for $1,850 a month, A resolution was also approved to pave a portion of the Lower Gainesville Road in the City of Eutaw.

    The Council was informed that two cadets sent to the police academy by the Eutaw Police Department were graduating on November 16th in Tuscaloosa. Several police officers and city employees plan to attend the graduation to encourage the cadets to join the city workforce.

    Mayor Johnson proposed that the City Council reinstate the old policy that police and other city employees can drive vehicles home to be ready to come to emergency situations quickly. After questioning, the Mayor said she never did implement the change in the policy, because the Council did not set dates and timetables for implementing the policy. The Mayor said that she was requiring the drivers to keep mileage and maintenance logs to take care of the cars.

    The Council heard a presentation on setting up a Greene County Saddle Club to encourage horse riding in an organized way. Once set up the Saddle Club would like to use the facilities in the City Park at Lock 7 for horse shows and other events. The Council asked the group to make a specific proposal that they could take action to implement.

    The Council passed a resolution declaring vacant the District 2 seat, held by Lajeffrey Carpenter, who pled quilty to the felony of using city property for personal gain. The Mayor said residents of District 2 could submit their names and a letter of interest in the position, so the Council could fill the position, within the next sixty days. The Council also voted to remove Carpenter’s name from all bank accounts on which he was a signatory.

    The Council approved resolutions for the revised budget for the FY2023-24 and opening a new account for deposit of a local gas tax funds.

    In other actions, the Eutaw City Council:

    • Approved Thanksgiving holiday for staff for November 22 (half day) and all of Nov. 23 and 24.
    • Approved Police Chief Tommy Johnson request purchasing 4 VHF Motorola, two-way radios, at a cost of $880 each radio.
    • Tabled payment of a $1,500 claim for Gloria Mobley.
    • Approved payment of bills for October 2023.
    • Agreed to hold a Council Work Session on November 27, 2023, at 3:30 PM, before the next regular City Council meeting on November 28, 2023.