ATTEMPT TO LOOSEN CITY'S DRUG TESTING POLICY NIXED

A last-minute attempt to loosen the city's employee drug and alcohol
testing policy received a unanimous thumbs-down Tuesday from the
Greenwood City Council.

All council members voted to delay action on the proposal
indefinitely and directed City Attorney James Littleton to draft a
tighter version of the drug policy within the next 30 days.

Greenwood Mayor Sheriel Perkins was not present at Tuesday's meeting.
She and her family were in Washington attending the presidential
inauguration of Barack Obama.

Nick Joseph, the city's personnel director, showed the council the
proposed loosened drug testing policy at the very end of the
council's regular monthly meeting.

The proposed change wasn't included on the council's printed agenda.
Instead, it was added at the start of Tuesday's meeting.

According to Joseph, the city presently conducts pre-employment drug
testing on all prospective employees. Once they are hired, the city
then conducts random testing on all employees except clerical
workers, he said.

In addition, any employee involved in a motor vehicle accident while
on official business or during working hours is administered a drug
test, he said.

Joseph said he consulted the city of Pearl in drafting the proposed
new policy. As presented to the council Tuesday, that policy would
have eliminated all pre-employment testing of city employees.

As originally written, the Pearl ordinance provides only for the
random testing of police and fire personnel, Joseph said. After he
consulted with Perkins, the proposed Greenwood ordinance's language
was amended to include random testing of Department of Public Works
employees, he said.

The Greenwood ordinance proposed by Joseph would not have required
any post-accident testing of employees.

Ward 5's Tennill Cannon, an employee of Viking Range Corp., which
employs a vigorous drug testing policy, said he was alarmed that the
city would loosen its drug policy rather than strengthen it.

Ward 1's Johnny Jennings said any weakening of the policy would
ultimately mean that people with drug problems would flock to the
city for employment.

The city's policy, he said, is intended to ensure that new municipal
hires don't have problems, particularly after the city spends a
substantial amount of money in training them for a job during the
first six months of employment.

Ward 6's David Jordan, who also sits on the recently established
state Senate Drug Policy Committee, expressed dismay that the city's
existing policy would be watered down, thus exposing the city to the
possibility of lawsuits.

Ward 4's Charles McCoy said his employer, Greenwood Market Place, has
a tough and effective drug testing policy. If anything, McCoy said,
the city's policy should be expanded to include the City Council itself.