The Warren City Council met Wednesday evening, December 14, 2022, in a special called conference to wrap up a number of necessary items that were not finished during Monday’s regular December meeting.
Present Aldermen were Dorothy Henderson, Joel Tolefree, Emily Mosely, and Memory Burks Frazer by phone, which constituted a quorum. Mayor Denisa Pennington was present and presided.
After the opening prayer and pledge, the Council confirmed committee assignments for the upcoming 2023 calendar year. The Council voted to keep committee assignments the same. The only change will be incoming Alderperson Latanza Atkins replacing current and outgoing Alderperson Zack Burks in his past positions.
Next, the Council unanimously adopted resolution A-670 to transfer American Rescue Plan funds into the general fund in the amount of $945,096.54. $400,00 of that amount is planned to be put into Street paving projects.
The Council went on to unanimously pass resolution A-671 which raised salaries for elected officials. The following are the salaries for 2023:
- Mayor – $47,498.09
- City Clerk – $44,439.55
- City Treasurer – $13,285.30
- City Attorney – $19,976.47
- Aldermen – $3,060.00
A two percent raise is also included in the City budget as was noted during the Monday meeting.
Resolution A-672, the full 2023 budget was then adopted unanimously.
Included in the budget are a number of contracts that were requested by local organizations. Included in the budget were the following:
- Area Agency on Aging – $2,000
- Bradley County Historical Museum – $2,000
- Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival – $10,000
Finally, the Council voted in favor of accepting a bid of $6,200 to repair a house on Pierson Street which was damaged due a controlled City burn at a home next door.
With that amount for street paving, I’m hoping that includes new concrete sidewalks where needed downtown. Example: Myrtle street from Cyprus to Church Street.
Many other sidewalks are in rough shape downtown. Improving them would make such a huge impression on visitors, especially during Pink Tomato Festival.