The newly elected Greenville City Council officially took office Monday night.

Circuit Judge Terri Bozeman Lovell administered the oath of office to Mayor Dexter McLendon and councilmen Bryan Reynolds (District 1), Ed Sims (District 2), Tommy Ryan (District 3), James Lewis (District 4) and Jeddo bell (District 5) at a ceremony held at the Wendell Mitchell Conference Center on the campus of LBW Community College.

“This is a special night,” McLendon said. “We’ve had a lot go on (in Greenville) the last 12 years, and we’re going to have a lot more going on the next four years. It’s going to be fun.”

Prior to the officials being sworn in, the City showed a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted the changes McLendon mentioned in his opening remarks.

McLendon credited the City’s department heads and workers for many of the improvements that have taken place in recent years.

“It may be the council that makes the decisions, but it’s the department heads and the folks that work for them that make it work,” he said.

Bell, who will once again serve as mayor pro tempore, said it’s the people that call Greenville home that make it a great city.

“I often say a city is no better than the people in its boundaries,” he said. “If you have good people, you have a good city. If you have bad people, you have a bad city. We have a great city.”

Lewis, who is beginning his 29th year on the council, said he was thankful to have the opportunity to continue to serve his hometown.

“I am a Greenvillian,” he said. “I’ve lived here my whole life except for a little while during my time in the service and in school, and this has always been home. I will always be a Greenvillian, and I’m very thankful that the people in my district have elected me to represent them again.”

One of the first acts of the newly elected council was to appoint liaisons for the city departments.

Lewis will serve as public safety liaison; Sims will serve as the liaison for recreation, Sherling Lake Park and the Ritz Theatre; Ryan will serve as the public works liaison; Reynolds will serve as the liaison for sanitation and cemetery; and Bell will serve as the liaison for the library and public relations.

The full council will serve as the finance liaison.

Council members were also appointed to local boards.

Ryan will serve on the Planning Commission; McLendon and Reynolds will serve on the Butler County Commission for Economic Development; Reynolds will serve on the Butler County Industrial Development Authority; Bell will serve on the Greenville-Butler County Public Library board; Lewis will serve on the Emergency Medical Services board; and McLendon, Sims, Lewis and Bell will serve on the Ordinance Review Committee.

McLendon will also serve on the Southeast Alabama Gas District Board and Lewis will serve on the Wtaer Works and Sewer Board.

Along with the swearing in of the elected officials, Lovell also administered the oath of office to City Clerk Sue Arnold, Greenville Fire Department Chief Mike Phillips and Greenville Police Department Chief Lonzo Ingram.

The council will hold its next regular meeting Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.