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The Boykins Town Council heard more details Jan. 11 about an issue discovered last month with regard to E-Summons funds, and the council also made progress in its search for a new Public Works supervisor.

Boykins Town Clerk/Treasurer Victoria Edwards said that Councilwoman Linda Beatty updated her and the Town Council on the ongoing E-Summons funds issue. Beatty serves as the resource for the town on the matter.

E-Summons, or electronic summons, is a program that transitions much of the process of ticketing at traffic stops from paperwork to digital scanning. This has led to a significant reduction in the length of time for traffic stops, it has eliminated the need to perform data entry for each summons, and it has reduced errors due to illegible handwriting.

There are fees connected to the E-Summons program.

“We are looking into how the E-Summons fees will be paid to the town since we have passed an ordinance that authorizes our town officer to add the additional fee,” Beatty said.

When dealing with unfinished business items Jan. 11, the Town Council scheduled interviews to fill the town Public Works supervisor position.

Edwards noted that later in the meeting, the Town Council reviewed applicants for this same position.

Among the reports made to the council during the meeting, one pertained to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. 

“Council was informed that changes were made to the Final Rule guidelines and that our ARPA reporting administrator is currently reviewing it,” Edwards said.

Merriam-Webster notes that a “final rule” is a rule promulgated by an administrative agency after the public has had an opportunity to comment on the proposed rule.

The first tranche of ARPA or Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds that the town of Boykins has received is $95,187.38.

Edwards noted that a tentative date has been scheduled for Boykins’ annual Pumpkin Fest, as the town has already received calls about the fall event. 

“We have penciled the event in for Oct. 15 and will continue to monitor COVID guidelines leading up to the event,” she said.