At their regular meeting on March 13, the Eutaw City Council considered whether or  not to grant Winchester Carton a tax abatement on the upgraded system the company is installing.

Normally, when a company expands and provides new jobs, this is a routine matter.

However, in this particular instance, no new jobs will be created, but some 40 existing jobs will be saved.

After some discussion, it was decided that City Attorney Mike Smith could do a cost analysis and that the council talk further with the company.

In  other business, the council:

*Denied payment for travel expenses to Mayor Raymond Steele for trips to  Prichard and  Prattville, AL.

*Discussed who would appoint poll officials for the upcoming municipal election. Councilman Joe Powell reminded them that the law says that the council is the appointing agency for poll personnel.

*Discussed making a donation to help fund the Drug Task Force. The council  was in favor of this, with the exception of Ralph  Liverman, who said employee raises should come first. Police Chief Derrick Coleman informed them that the Drug Task Force had been a tremendous help in Greene County. No final decision was made.

*Met two  new police officers, Charles Stanley and Dexter Turner.

*Discussed how long  public comments could last. The current time limit is two minutes. The discussion ended without a change being made.

Items  tabled until a later date included:

*Discussion of the most recent City audit

*A donation to the J. C.  Poole Library

*A policy for the rental rates of the city bus, van, parks and National Guard Armory.

*An ordinance and/or resolutions for changes in the personnel policy.

*A discussion of a letter from the Governor about the availability of an ATRIP Grant. This will be discussed further at the next regular meeting. No further explanation was given.