During Tuesday’s Poplarville Board of Aldermen meeting, Mayor Louise Smith and the Board approved a motion to awarded funds to the Fire Department.

Mayor Smith executed a memorandum of understanding concerning  grant funds from the Department of Revenue totaling $500,000. Those funds will be used to purchase a new fire truck for the Fire Department.

The Board then acknowledged of the publishers certification of publication that  the amended zoning ordinances and amended golf cart ordinances have been published in the local newspaper. The Board also approved a motion to allowed supplemental insurance coverage to be offered to city employees through Globe Life-Liberty Nation Division. The motion follows a presentation given to the Board during a previous meeting by Globe Life-Liberty representative Lynn Veits regarding the policy’s benefits.

In other business, the Board approved the claims docket in the amount of $133,321. During public input portion of the meeting, a resident addressed the Board about confusing wording in the city’s water meter regulations. The resident, Marcus Jordan, said the city’s regulations state that a $225 fee is required to establish a new account, but current residents who move to a new address within the city should have existing accounts and therefore not be charged, but they are being charged. He said the current wording implies only residents without and existing account must pay the $225 fee. City Clerk Linda DuPont said that the city’s policy is that every address is considered its own account so when a resident moves they technically have to set up a new water account, so even if the previous account was closed with a zero balance, they still need to pay the fee when setting up a new account.

After discussion of the matter, the Board agreed to revisit the wording so residents understand there will be a fee to set up an account at a new address, even if they had an account at a previous address.