For most people the start of a new year begins January 1st; however, for the City of Woodruff the start of the year is July 1st. This means that the City of Woodruff is working on closing out the current year and is starting a new fiscal year with the budget that City Council approved on June 22nd. This budget year will hold some challenges, but the City is hoping to establish some new services to the City.
One service that the City is working on is free wi-fi in the downtown business district and hopefully the large downtown park. The City has budgeted funds in the new budget to purchase the necessary equipment to provide this service, and will be working with a vendor to design and install the necessary equipment. The City is also hoping to begin chipping the branches that are collected by the Street Department, and then making the remnants available to the community. Both of these services will take time to establish, and we will make sure to update the community as to when they become available. The City is also working on guidelines for a Façade Improvements Grant program to assist the businesses in the City’s Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District make improvements to their exteriors. These are a few of the programs that we are working on establishing during the next fiscal year.
Besides programs, the City has a couple major projects scheduled during the next fiscal year. Barring any major setbacks, the City should complete the downtown parking improvement projects during the next fiscal year. Council also approved a motion to begin renovations on the Historic Woodruff High School and current home of City Hall. These renovation include replacing the roof, repainting the building, and working to upgrade several major systems in the building.
The City is also anticipating that we will receive the parks service back from Spartanburg County in October. We have worked with the County to get the lights returned to the ballpark at W. R. McKinney Park, and we are also in the process of establishing a plan to maintain and utilize all city parks.
The City should have an exciting year ahead, and it is our hope that you see an increased offering of services and the completion of some community improvement projects.
Thank you for making Woodruff your home and making Woodruff the City that it is.