Insurance for employees of the City of Centre will be going up.

Mayor Tony Wilkie explained during Tuesday’s Centre City Council meeting.

Employees on the family plan will pay an additional 39-dollars each pay period.

The city will have to absorb an estimated 20-thousand dollars for the year.

Mayor Wilkie says they have all but about 18-hundred of that.

In other action, the council approved the Franchise Renewal Agreement with Charter Communications and an application for use of the Cherokee County Board of Education facilities for the city recreation department’s basketball league.

The agreement will allow the city to use county school system gymnasiums.

There are 150 kids playing in the league.

The council also approved a Special Event Alcohol License for Ducks Unlimited.

The conservation group will hold a fundraising event at the Health and Activity Building at Cherokee County Health and Rehab on February the 21st.

The council also heard a request from Stephen Walker with Ducks Unlimited.

It was agreed there would not be enough time to waive the fee because doing so would require an ordinance change, which would take time to draw up.

Plus it would have to be advertised for two weeks. However, the council may look at exempting non-profit organizations from the fee in the future.

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Tuesday’s Centre City Council meeting was the first of the New Year and the first since the tragic death of Police Officer Jeff Bryant in an automobile accident last month.

Mayor Wilkie spoke on the loss.

Mayor Wilkie then read a note from Bryant’s wife Felicia.

Police Chief Kirk Blankenship thanked everyone for their condolences and said the police department received sympathy cards from as far away as Ontario, Canada and Miami, Florida.