The Warren City Council discussed the budget for 2023 at their monthly meeting last Monday night.
The city council began the meeting by going into executive session to discuss the resignation of a city employee.
When the council came out of executive session, no action was taken. Alderman Joel Tolefree made a motion for the city attorney to contact state legislature to investigate the workplace culture and hiring process for city employees. The motion was approved by the other members.
Alderwoman Dorothy Henderson presented the 2023 budget from the Ways and Means Committee. She commented the budget was going to be tight.
There was a two percent pay increase for elected officials and city employees.
The Department of Sanitation had requested the CDL position be eliminated.
The request and motion failed with only two votes “for” the request. The salary from the vacated position will not be spread among employees in the department.
There was $30,000 to put in the budget for the Parks and Recreation Department. The funds will go towards city pool repairs that were needed.
The street department would receive $400,000 from the American Rescue Plan.
A resolution was made to put funds from the American Rescue Plan to put into the budget for the next meeting.
There was $10,000 that was approved for the Pink Tomato Festival budget for promotional services.
The city council approved $2,000 to the budget for Area Agency for Aging.
The city council approved $75,000 to hire a consultant for city recruitment and economic purposes.
The Bradley County Historical Museum requested $2,000 for restorative services. The vote came to a tie with three “for” and three “against”. Mayor Denisa Pennington broke the tie by voting “for” the request, granting the museum its funding.
There was no action taken on the funding requests from the Bradley County Economic Development Corp. and the Bradley County Chamber of Commerce. It was said economic contracts would have to be bid out.
In other business, Warren Police Chief Shaun Hildreth reported two part-time patrol officers had moved to full-time positions. They also had a new officer graduated from the police academy. Alderman Zachary Burks asked about staff staying in the department. Chief Hildreth said there were staff shortages in departments around the country. He said it was a hard job, making it not a glamourous one.
Warren Fire Chief Chuck Moore reported the fire department responded to 11 calls in November. They also had a controlled burn on Pearson Street.
Alderwoman Henderson spoke before the city council and the public complimenting Mayor Pennington, Alderman Burks, and City Clerk Helen Boswell, at their last meeting on the city council. She thanked them for their service to the community. A motion was made and approved for resolutions honoring them.
The next city council meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, January 9 at the Warren Municipal Building. It will be the first meeting with mayor-elect Gregg Reep.
