The Eutaw City Council held its regular meeting on October 14, which is likely to be the second to last meeting presided over by Mayor Latasha Johnson as her four-year term comes to a close at the end of the month.
The meeting was fairly routine in approving required city business matters but not tackling new initiatives, policies or programs. The Council tabled a budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025, since most of the expenditures will be made in the initial months of the next mayor’s administration. Even though the budget was listed as a draft budget for the 25-26 Fiscal Year, the council members did not want to encumber the plans of the new Administration with a budget that it would have to change.
At the end of the meeting, it was announced that the inauguration of the new Mayor, Corey Cockrell, and the five council members, would be held on Monday November 3rd, at 10:00 A.M., on the grounds of the Old Greene County Courthouse, in downtown Eutaw, Alabama.
The Council also heard a report from Travis Boyd of the Servpro Corporation about alterations and repairs to the gym portion of the Robert H. Young Community Center, the former Carver School. The report includes removing toxic substances, such as lead paint and asbestos from the facility. The Servpro representatives gave their report to the council members to review. In the public meeting, the company representatives never spoke to the specifics of their financial proposal for the rehabilitation of the building.
Richard Harbin of Harbin and Stough CPA firm, made a preliminary report on their audit report for Fiscal Year 2024-25, which ended September 30, 2025. Harbin said, “ Mayor Johnson has done a good job of recording the financial records of the city. She is leaving the city in good financial shape. She has helped the city to get several grants including a large one of over $3.6 million from ADEM, for water and sewer improvements for the cities of Eutaw and Boligee that jointly share in the system,” said Harbin. He said it would take some additional time to complete the audit due to accounting for the State of Alabama Retirement System which covers city employees, audit testing of accounts and payments and writing an opinion.
In other business, the Eutaw City Council:
• Approved a Resolution to create a bank account to hold funds from currency seized from lawbreakers.
• Approved City Attorney Zane Willingham, writing a letter to Mayor Johnson concerning her disposition of city property without council approval.
• Approved City Attorney Zane Willingham to send Trevaris Truman a certified letter for the return of $4,975 in funds for a clean-up contract he never started.
• Approver registration, travel and per diem for Councilwoman-elect, Carrie Logan, to attend an orientation training for newly elected officials in Dothan, Alabama on November 12 and 13.
• Received a report from City Clerk Sha’kelvia Spencer, on using Mills Tax Service for providing bookkeeping and payroll services for the city.
• Approved donation of $250 to Greene County Children’s Policy Council for Halloween Festival.
• Approved getting a Public Official Bond of $100,000 for Mayor-elect Corey Cockrell and other city officials.
• Approved renewal of Notary Bond for City Clerk and Water clerk; and purchase of two overnight deposit from Merchants and Farmer’s Bank for deposit of city and water funds.
• Approved reimbursement of Police Officer Tyler Johnson for $45.06 for motor oil for patrol car.
• Removed item from the agenda to designate the 4th Saturday in August, to honor John and Carol Zippert, for work on the Black Belt Folk Roots Festival for fifty years.
• Approved the appointment of Pamela Hamilton to the Greene County Ambulance Board.
• Supported a Work Session to review the rental agreement for city buildings, and other facilities, including increasing the fees for clean-up costs.
• Approved payment of Monthly bills.
Tag: Robert H. Young Community Center
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Eutaw City Council holds regular meeting on October 14, 2025, dealing with routine matters
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Eutaw City Council approves engineering contract for resurfacing West End Avenue
Mayor Latasha Johnson presents certificates for completion of the University of Alabama, Municipal Clerks Academy to SheKelvia Spencer and Joe Lee Powell.
At its regular meeting on April 23,2024, the Eutaw City Council approved an engineering contract, for $47,000 with Thompson Engineering of Tuscaloosa for the resurfacing of West End Avenue from CR 131 to US 11 (approximately 1.374 miles). The engineering proposal was submitted by Craig P. Williams, PE. The funding for this construction project comes from the state’s Rebuild Alabama Program, funded with gas tax revenues.
Much of the meeting was devoted to financial considerations, which face the City because it no longer receives regular monthly distributions of bingo funds from the Sheriff Benison. The last monthly payment was in May 2023 and since that time the city and other municipalities in Greene County no longer receive distributions from electronic bingo.
Financial Adviser, Ralph Liverman, provided the City Council with a report comparing city revenues with expenses for the first six months of the current fiscal year (October 1, 2023, to March 31,2024). For the General Fund, which supports most city administration and services, he reported revenues collected of $1,550,603 (63% of budget) and expenditures of
$1,392,484 (59%). He also warned that the highest collection months for property, business license and other taxes come at the beginning of the year. There is a budget surplus of $113,459, in the General Fund, for the current fiscal year, which may cover additional expenditures, if the Council is cautious in spending and staffing.For the Water Fund, he reported $344,925 (51%) of budgeted revenues, for the six months, and expenses of $363,128 (55%), which represent a deficit for the period. Similarly, in the Sewer Fund, there were revenues of $113,938 (52%) with expenses of $196,456 (75%), for a deficit for the initial six months of the fiscal year.
Liverman also reported a balance of $104,262 in the 4-Cent Gas Tax Fund. $100,000 of these funds are in reserve to pay the city’s matching fund for the Streetscape Project, for which construction has started. The 7-Cent Gas Tax Fund has a balance of $7,416, which the city uses for street repair and maintenance work.
Liverman also pointed out that the City does not earn enough revenue from its properties, specifically the Robert H. Young Community Center (formerly the Carver School) to justify keeping the facility open. The Mayor and the Council feel that the community programs, recreation, and education justify keeping the Center open.
Council member Hunter asked the Mayor if the changes in work hours, to our five-day work week, with Thursdays and Friday off had been implemented. The Mayor said that the reduction in hours had been made, but street workers were working a full day Thursday and taking off a full day Friday. Other city employees are working half a day on Thursdays and Fridays. Councilwoman Hunter said she would be monitoring overtime closely to make sure these changes resulted in savings. Mayor Johnson said, “I do not want to layoff any employees. People need a job to support their families. I will reduce staff if we absolutely must.” Councilwoman Stewart asked if closing City Hall would inconvenience residents seeking to pay bills and was assured that this was not a problem.
Councilwoman Hunter asked about the status of securing a credit card for the city’s business. Efforts were made to secure a credit card from Merchants and Farmers Bank but were not completed. The Council recommended contacting Regions Bank to secure a credit card. Councilwoman Watkins reported potholes that need to be repaired on Roebuck Avenue and Thomas Avenue. Councilwoman Hunter reported similar problems in Branch Heights. The Mayor said she would order materials and have the potholes filled and fixed.
Mayor Johnson announced that the City was holding ‘Tony Rice Day’ on Thursday April 25, 2024, at 1:30 PM at the Courthouse Square, to honor and commemorate a city employee that was killed in an accident, fixing a sewer leak in Branch Heights, the year before. She also announced the Dedication of the Robert H. Young Community Center, on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Noon, since a formal ceremony had never been held. The Chief of Police announced that on May 14, 2024, the City will have a parade and program to honor First Responders.
In other actions, the Eutaw City Council:
• Heard a complaint, by Joe Fricks, of cars speeding on Boligee Street (Hwy 11) in front of his house, which makes it difficult to get in and out of his driveway. He suggested that more police patrols were needed. The Police Chief responded that he only had one officer on duty on each shift and that it would not be possible to respond to all requests in the city.
• Approved a Zoning Board recommendation that Bobby Terrell, of 201 O’Neal Street, be allowed to replace his mobile home, which burned down, with a new mobile home.
• Approved several groups, including West Alabama Works and AT&T/FirstNet for free usage of the R. H. Young Community Center for a public purpose meeting.
• Agreed to purchase a banner for the Eutaw Saddle Club for the horse arena in the Lock 7 City Park.
• Heard a report that the Sheriff granted $40,800, in bingo funds, to the Eutaw Fire Department to update safety equipment.
• Complimented the Litter Committee for a successful clean-up day, in Eutaw, on Saturday April 20, 2024.
• Agreed to pay bills as presented.
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Eutaw City Council holds two called meetings; Audit for September 30, 2022 is approved
The Eutaw City Council held two called meetings on January 22 and January 29, 2024 to deal with important business. It handled some of the business and deferred other matters to a proposed ‘work session” next week.
At the January 29, 2024 meeting, the Council received a detailed report on the CPA audit of its finances for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022. Auditor Rick Harbin of Tuscaloosa presented the 47-page report and stated that his firm was able to issue a letter, at the beginning of the audit, that the statements “reflect fairly the financial position of the city and that the reports follow standard accounting principles accepted in the USA.”
Harbin said the audit was clean and clear and represented the best efforts to account for the city’s assets, liabilities, and net position. Mayor Latasha Johnson thanked the staff, particularly Shakelvia Spencer and Joe Powell, as well as Financial Adviser Ralph Liverman for their work in keeping accurate records. “Having this audit, will allow us to receive and compete for state and Federal funding going forward. The funding sources are requiring us to have audits that show we are capable of handling and spending government funds,” said Mayor Johnson.
The audit shows that the City of Eutaw has combined Assets between governmental and business (mainly the water and sewer system) of $9,739,000 as compared with $9,477,000, the previous year. The report shows total Liabilities of $2,933,000; and total Liabilities and Net Position of $12,978,000.
The 47-page audit contains many other financial statements and notes dealing with the finances of the city, which the councilmembers must review and study for guidance in making policy decisions. For instance, the report shows a negative $489,349 in revenues, compared with expenses for the water and sewer system. If this trend continues, the Council may need to raise water and sewer rates. The audit also shows $ 577,681 in revenues from Bingo distributions in FY 2022, The Sheriff has not provided bingo distributions to Eutaw and other Greene County municipalities since May of 2023.
The Mayor presented a proposal at both meetings to re-organize the staff and give raises to employees accepting promotions to higher positions.
These changes were necessitated by the illness and retirement of longtime city employee, Larry Sanford. The Council did not make a motion to approve these items and they were deferred for discussion to a working session to be held next week.At the January 22 meeting, the Council approved a Resolution on the Usage of City Vehicles, which stated that city employees who live outside the city police jurisdiction cannot drive city vehicles to their home. Mayor Johnson placed an item on the January 29, 2024 meeting agenda, to rescind this policy. Many police officers, who live outside the police jurisdiction want to drive city police cars home, so they can respond to emergencies more quickly. The Council tabled this matter and deferred it to the proposed work session.
At the January 22nd meeting, the Council approved an agreement to allow the Alabama Forestry Commission to construct a 60-foot by 60-foot storage building to house its equipment on the city’s property behind the National Guard Armory. This will make the equipment more readily available than parking the equipment in Tuscaloosa. At the meeting the Council approved a plan for road improvements on the west end of Eutaw, under the Rebuild Alabama grant program. The Council also approved a $21,620 grant from Communities United for GIS mapping of city infrastructure, especially the water and sewer system. The grant requires a $1,000 matching from the city.
At the January 29th meeting the Council approved a grievance procedure, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, where persons with disabilities may make written complaints to the City Clerk and get due process and consideration of their complaints. The Council also passed an ordinance (No. 2024-01-29 #5) for Public Tree Planting in the City of Eutaw, which will be printed in the public notice section of this newspaper.
The Council was asked to approve use of the gym at the Robert H. Young Community Center (formerly Carver School) at a compensatory rate for IRS 501c3, non-profit organizations, for the Black Pearls Tru Partner’s event on February 24, 2024. The Council deferred in making a decision and referred this to the coming work session to develop a fee schedule for events to be held at city facilities.
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Greene Co. Democratic Executive Committee
holds political forum
Jimmie Benison 
Beverly “Bev” Spencer 
Hank McWhorter The Greene County Executive Committee held a political forum on Thursday, April 7, 2022 in the gymnasium of the Robert H. Young Community Center (old Carver School). The forum was open to all candidates in the Democratic primary election on May 24, 2022 for local offices in Greene County. The candidates were given three minutes to introduce themselves and an additional ten minutes for questions.
Lorenzo French, Chair of the Greene County Democratic Executive Committee explained the purpose of the forum was to allow candidates to explain their platforms and reasons for running, as well as to answer questions from voters. French asked the audience to take note of those candidates who did not appear and ask them to be more accountable to the voters of Greene County.
The hotly contested race for Sheriff of Greene County drew the most attention. Three of the four candidates were present, only the incumbent sheriff, Jonathan “Joe” Benison, was not present and did not speak to his accomplishments in office or answer voter’s questions.
Jimmie Benison, candidate for sheriff explained his long career in law enforcement, including military service, previously working as a Greene County deputy sheriff and currently working for a Mental Health Law Enforcement program in Tuscaloosa.
Jimmie Benison said, “I will be a fulltime sheriff dedicated to law enforcement and safety. I will stand for transparency, accountability, dependability and honesty in my role as sheriff. I will appoint a panel, similar to the “racing commission” that we had to operate, regulate and monitor greyhound dog racing, to operate electronic bingo in the county.”
In answering questions, Benison said, “I am unfamiliar with the current rules that are being used by the sheriff to operate bingo but I feel that the panel I create will develop rules to make more funds available to Greene County government and agencies.”
In answer to a question about reducing crime, he said, “I am in favor of more after school programs and activities for youth; I plan to revitalize the junior deputies program we had in the past, which will help to bridge the gap between the community and the police.”
Hank McWhorter, another candidate for sheriff, said that he had 35 years of law enforcement experience, including ten years of service with the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.
“Based on the funds coming through Greene County’s electronic bingo establishments, we should have the best roads, best services, best hospital, best ambulance service, best education, a high school football stadium, and best recreational services of any county in Alabama. The money is there but it is not staying in the county to help people here. I will work to fix this.”
McWhorter suggested that Greene County residents get the public documents from IRS on the bingo charities, their 990 disclosure forms and others, to see what they are doing and how much they are paying their staff and what they are giving to Greene County. He also said there are bingo controlled “political action committees” (PAC’s), like Citizens for Lawful Government, which are trying to buy the election for the incumbent sheriff.
In a separate interview with this reporter, McWhorter said he feared for his life and that of his family because he was revealing the truth about the corruption of bingo in Greene County.
Beverly “Bev” Spencer, the third candidate for sheriff, challenging the incumbent said, “I was born in Greene County, lived here all of my life and plan to die here. I have no law enforcement experience but I have common sense and I know what the sheriff is supposed to do.”
“Greene County is not getting its fair share of bingo funds. I estimate $300 to $400 million dollars annually is flowing through bingo and Greene County gets $6 or $7 million a year out of this. We should be getting at least 10% or $30 million which could be used to help Greene County,” said Spencer.
“I will create an 8-member committee, 3 whites and 5 Blacks, to regulate and supervise bingo in Greene County; I will be the ninth vote to break a tie. This committee will change the rules and see if we can get every single person in Greene County a small check from bingo funds as well as fund the charities, agencies and government services,” said Spencer.
District Attorney Greg Griggers and his challenger Barrown Lankster, who has held the position in the past discussed their different approaches to the position of District Attorney for the 17th Judicial District, which includes Greene, Sumter and Marengo counties. Lankster said he would be more pro-active in working with educational programs for young people to prevent crime. Griggers touted various special courts he had created for mental health and juvenile crimes.
The program lasted for over three hours from 5:00 PM to after 8:30 PM and also heard from candidates for County Commission and School Board. We will cover those races in the six weeks ahead until the May 24th. Primary.
There was also a fiery keynote address by civil rights and voting rights activist Rev. Wendel Paris of Jackson, Mississippi. Paris is a native of Sumter County and played a major role in political activism in the Alabama Black Belt for many years. “All of us must vote in every election. We need to strive for 90% turnout in the Alabama Black Belt and we can win statewide elections. You must go out and vote because your vote can make a difference in your daily life, and if you don’t vote, please do not complain about the results,” said Paris.
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Eutaw City Council approves application for $500,000 to repair roof at old Carver School
The Eutaw City Council met for a partially virtual meeting on August 24, 2021, that was also broadcast to the public on Facebook-Live due to the increasing numbers of coronavirus cases in Greene County. The Eutaw City Council received reports from a number of city departments and paid regular bills for the month. The Council approved a resolution for Mayor Latasha Johnson to apply for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the State ADECA office, to repair the roof on the Robert H. Young Community Center, formerly the Carver Elementary School. The city acquired the school from the Board of Education several years ago and uses it to house non-profit and small business entities. There are no matching fund requirements for this grant. The grant is due before the next regular meeting of the Council. Corey Martin for the Water Department reported that the department had collected $1,039,398.32 in water, sewer and garbage payments since the October 1, 2020 start of the fiscal year. For the last full fiscal year, the Water Department collected $585,592.17, a difference of $453,806.15. The Department has 1,394 customers and added 8 customers this month in the city and 9 customers on Boligee routes. The Water Department has been working to find and fix meters, find and repair leaks and generally to improve the system to increase revenues and reduce water leakage. This includes collection of past due receivables and closing accounts for non-payment or unwillingness to agree to payment plans to settle past-due accounts. Torris Babb, City Engineer reported on his work to evaluate streets that need major repaving work to be funded by state and local funds. He urged the Council to approve a contract for a company to clean out the sludge in the city lagoon to allow its pumps and pipes to work more efficiently. Babb also reported on FEMA financed drainage repairs, a new building code ordinance, GPS mapping of city utilities and other work. Babb also said he secured permission from ALDOT to close a bridge at the end of Springfield Avenue until it could be redone. Linda Spencer, Magistrate and Court Clerk reported that she was working on plans and procedures to hold City Court virtually beginning next month in September. Ralph Liverman, fiscal consultant presented the city with a financial report for the period October 1,2020 through July 31, 2021. The report listed numerous bank accounts that the city has and transactions made during the fiscal year. Liverman also reported he was working on a budget for the coming 2021-2022 fiscal year and wanted to review this in detail with the finance committee. At this time, subject to changes, Liverman projects a budget with $4,057,856 in revenues and $3,616,191 in expenditures with a surplus of $441,665. Liverman said, “This budget would allow for payment of all long-term loan payments like the water system, lighting at the Interstate Exit, and matching fund requirements for various grants. It also would allow us to consider a leasing arrangement for four new police cars, a knuckle-boom truck, a street sweeper and several pick-up trucks needed to improve the ability of the city’s staff to serve residents.” Mayor Johnson reported that negotiations were on-going with IRS to remove a tax lien on the city for employee taxes during the period 2015 to 2020. “We settled with IRS on some years – 2016 and 2017 – and we are awaiting the final charges for 2018 and 2019, to settle this debt,” she said. The Mayor also reported that she had spoken with Waste Management about delays in collecting city garbage. The company says it has staff shortages resulting in delays in garbage collection. The mayor asked City Attorney Zane Willingham to communicate with Waste Management in writing about their service and contractual violations. In other business, the City Council:
• Approved payment of $1,200 each, to three employees, who were sick with COVID-19, from remaining CARES funds.
• Approved travel for city staff to a training for Municipal Clerks and Administrators in Orange Beach in November; and for a BBI Software conference in Meridian, Mississippi on September 2, 2021.
• Approved a contract of $12,720 with Supreme Electrical LLC to replace light fixtures with LED fixtures throughout City Hall, from the Capital Improvement Fund.
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Mayor Steele reports to Eutaw City Council on recent positive progress
Shown L To R: Mayor Raymond Steele, Anita Lewis Executive Director of Branch Heights and Greene County Sheriff Jonathan Benison inspecting newly paved road. 
Sgt. Jones displaying guns that were confiscated from juveniles in
an arrest on O’Neal Street.After some routine matters, the January 8, 2019 first meeting of the new year was devoted to a report by Mayor Raymond Steele on positive progress by the city over the past weeks.
The Eutaw City Council agreed to table discussion of bills and finances until a working session scheduled for January 15, 2019. The area of finances, a budget, audits of prior year finances and a general handle on the revenues and expenses of the city remain a concern to a majority of the Council members.
Mayor Steele reported that work on resurfacing the streets in Branch Heights was underway. Central Asphalt Company of Northport was doing a good job. The major streets will be done first and then if funds are left in the contract, the individual cul de sacs in the community will also be resurfaced.
The Mayor indicated that some supplement might need to be added to the contract to complete the full road and street resurfacing project in Branch Heights. This work is being funded by a special allocation of bingo funds and the city’s road repair tax account.
Mayor Steele reported that site work for the Love’s Truck Stop project at the Interstate 59/20 exit would begin later in January. Some equipment has been pre-staged by the contractor for use in site preparations for the project.
The Mayor thanked Rev. Barton for his work with youth at the Robert H. Young Community Center (formerly Carver Elementary School) including a basketball tournament, exercise and weight room and improvements to the exterior and interior of the buildings.
Darren Cook of Unity in the Community, a non-profit organization, has assisted Rev. Barton with the youth program and sponsoring the holiday basketball tournament. Cook, who is a native of Tishabee community in Greene County, now resides in Huntsville raised funds through his non-profit to help with charitable projects in Greene County. Cook said his organization also provided bicycles for poor children through DHR and Christmas baskets to forty senior citizens in the community.
Cook’s organization recently provided 30 table coverings for the Robert H. Young Center. Council members thanked Cook and praised the city administration for moving ahead in a positive way. Rev. James Carter indicated that he had employed three young people, in his family construction business, who he met at the basketball tournament.
The Mayor announced that Auburn University was sponsoring a conference on economic development on April 4, 2019, in Eutaw, in conjunction with the city and surrounding communities.
Police Chief Coleman and Sgt. Jones displayed two automatic guns that they had confiscated from juveniles in an arrest the previous week on O’Neal Street. The weapons which were modified to fire continuous rounds automatically looked dangerous and raised many questions as to how and why young people in our city should be carrying weapons of war suitable to a third world battlefield and not the streets of small town Alabama.
In other business, the Eutaw City Council:- Approved use of the Eutaw Civic Center by the National Wild Turkey Federation, for their special annual event on February 22, 2019, including approval of a license to serve alcohol at the event; and
- Approved travel for Chief Coleman to attend the Alabama Chief of Police Conference in Montgomery on February 17-21, 2019.