Glenwood City Council Clashes with Citizens in Monthly Meeting

The Glenwood City Council argued with concerned citizens during the council’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 1, at the Glenwood City Hall.

The group of attendees complained of a lack of transparency from the city council regarding finances, and alleged the neglecting of city upkeep such as grass cutting and mosquito spraying, the misuse of Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds and misconduct by Mayor GM Joiner.

Regarding mayoral misconduct, the group alleged Joiner of only maintaining city upkeep when it benefitted his personal business interests and of conflicts of interest with those businesses. 

Joiner denied any accusations of potential misconduct, claiming all relations between his role as mayor and business owner were handled through the proper channels. He also insisted city upkeep was being maintained.

According to Maquanda Clark, one of the attendees, the claims were brought to the council due to frustrations that Glenwood is “not thriving” when compared to neighboring cities such as Mount Vernon.

Clark has attended several past council meetings, and introduced a letter request for an independent audit and financial investigation to the council. According to Joiner, the audit will be carried out, and the results posted online for public viewing.

Councilmember Matthew Johnson offered a motion to adjourn the meeting after several minutes of arguing between the council and the attendees in public participation.

Mayor Joiner also delivered a Mayor’s report to the council during the meeting. According to the report, Councilmember Johnson was appointed to serve as the council’s Methodist Church Cemetery Committee Trust representative.

“People think the city owns that cemetery, we don’t own that cemetery,” says Joiner. “There’s three cemeteries up there, owned by different people.”

Mayor Joiner also reported the completion of the LMIG projects on 1st Avenue and 7th Avenue.

The city will begin flushing hydrates in two rounds, the first on Monday, July 7, and the second on Monday, July 14. A new water hydrate for Highway 19 North has also arrived and will be installed soon, though no specific date was given.

A stump as located and removed from the Gerdna M. Joiner City Park, and the surrounding area was cleaned. The city also placed gravel in the driveway of Angela Clark.

The Council also reviewed the 2025 monthly account balance report, provided by City Clerk Caryn Edge. Copies of the report were also provided to attendees.

According to the report, as of Saturday, May 31, the general fund totalled $171,541.64; the fire department account totalled $16,669.69; the money market account totalled $143,087.82; the T-SPLOST DOT discretionary fund totalled $1,978.50; the T-SPLOST/TIA account totalled $57,524.81; the volunteer fire department account totalled $1,402.85 and the water and sewer account totalled $45,652.26.