Glasgow council gives first nod to new budget, approves legal settlement with former HR manager

BY MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
FOR GLASGOW NEWS 1
The City of Glasgow’s proposed $29 million budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 received on Monday the first of two approvals it will need from the city council before it’s adopted.
The vote on the first reading of the ordinance adopting the budget was unanimous with all nine members of the Glasgow Common Council present at its regular meeting – and with zero discussion other than a request to have one of the figures repeated.
The council members had had copies of the budget since May 26, and the council’s finance committee had met last week and reviewed some of the details.
Mayor Henry Royse, initially referring to annual reports from the emergency communications, fire and police departments earlier in the meeting, said following the polling, “I have to tell you, we’ve talked about teams a lot here tonight, but this budget just doesn’t happen, and certainly it’s not fabricated. This is a budget that requires department heads to get on board with the people that work with them, for the department heads to get with the finance department, for everybody to sit down and make ends meet and make sense out of all of these numbers.”
He gave a shout out to City Treasurer Stephanie Garrett and Finance Officer Madi Griffin, saying he appreciated all their work.
The second reading of the ordinance is expected to take place at the June 26 council meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers on the second floor of Glasgow City Hall, 126 E. Public Square, Glasgow.
First readings of two other ordinances were also approved unanimously, as was a resolution and another matter.
— One of the ordinances would amend the current fiscal year’s budget to formally reflect the city’s receipt of a total of $221,500 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and funds from a nationwide legal settlement regarding opioid use. It would also designate $359,736 from the unappropriated portion of the General Fund for insurance, repairs, the final phase of the police garage, accrued vacations, and supplies, and it would set aside $46,800 in Plaza Funds for professional services.
— The other ordinance would adopt a supplement to the city’s published Code of Ordinances.
— The resolution authorized and approved the transfer of approximately 3.86 acres of land along Bayles Road near the city-owned landfill back to the city. It had been sold through a bid process initiated by the previous administration, but after the deal was finalized, it was determined through research of another landfill matter that use of the majority property is restricted due to the presence of certain species there for their protection, City Attorney Rich Alexander explained.
In addition, at the beginning of the meeting, Alexander had suggested they add to the agenda a closed session pertaining to litigation, and at the conclusion of the other action items, the council moved into the adjoining conference room for less than 10 minutes, after which the city attorney noted that after a closed session during the previous meeting, the council had authorized him to negotiate a settlement within a certain dollar range, and he was pleased to have been able to report to them that a settlement agreement was reached within that range. He said he could not, however, divulge the amount due to a confidentiality stipulation in the agreement.
The council unanimously approved accepting the agreement, which was with Barbara England, former human resources manager for the city. After the prior meeting, Alexander said the case involved an allegation that the city violated the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The mayor also announced at the conclusion of the meeting that City Hall is closed June 19 for Juneteenth.