The McDonough City Council officially accepted a $101,191 grant that will result in more money in employees’ pockets.

The extra funds will allow $1,000 pay supplements for 94 eligible public safety officers. The remaining funds in the Governor’s Office Georgia Public Safety Officials and First Responders Supplement Grant will cover the city’s share of FICA and Medicare costs related to these payments, so there is no net cost to the city. The vote to accept the grant came at the council’s December 13 regular meeting.

In other business, a rezoning application involving a local church was approved. A seven-acre tract had been previously split into two parcels so that one of the sites, four-tenths of an acre with a house, could continue to be used for residential purposes. The site in question is at 65 Brown Avenue and known as the First Baptist Church Mission House.

This rezoning request was to allow a change from office-institutional to single-family residential. Aside from the applicant, no one spoke for or against the request at the public hearing before the vote.

Some upgrades to technical equipment in McDonough’s police and court buildings were approved. The council approved the $20,764.99 purchase of additional video surveillance for the buildings to be funded using special-purpose local option sales tax money. According to officials, the police chief requested five additional exterior cameras for better coverage of certain areas, and city staff said this would provide better and more secure visibility for areas that were lacking, particularly in police station parking areas where citizens may have business transactions for safety purposes. Also approved was a $52,875.51 expenditure for the replacement of network infrastructure hardware in City Hall as well as the police and court buildings.

Several individual expenditures for various city departments were approved. The council green-lit the $98,386 purchase of core network infrastructure switches to replace and/or upgrade existing devices, using budgeted SPLOST network infrastructure funds. Also approved was an emergency repair of fencing around the north side of a sludge lagoon on Dogwood Lane at a cost of $11,575. Renewal of a one-year contract for a specialized software system currently used by the police department’s criminal investigations division was approved at a $2,727 annual cost.

Also approved by the council was the purchase and installation of four camera systems for use by law enforcement personnel. According to officials, the system “is an innovative tool that will assist law enforcement in solving crimes.”