BENTON — To prepare for traffic when construction begins on the new Franklin County Courthouse on the Benton, the Benton City Council Monday night approved taking the previously marked 20-minute unloading zones on Scaraborough and Tolar drives and turning them into 30 minute parking on both streets.

The council also approved removing certain stop signs on Church and Washington streets.

One sign will be removed on Church and the other on Washington. This will help with the flow of traffic on secondary roads while courthouse construction is underway.

The Benton City Council restored longevity for City Clerk Brook Craig at Monday night’s meeting.

Craig says there are pay resolutions with the city. For some reason Craig was hired into the City Clerk position with no experience and had been Deputy City Clerk from 2006 to 2013 and therefore she did have experience.

Craig added past practice was that when a person switched departments, they kept their city longevity. Craig was the only person who did not, which she recently found out about.

Craig asked the city council to restore her years of service and to correct her pay to match the resolution. The council accepted her request.

Former McLeansboro Police Chief David Filkins is now a member of the Benton Police Department.

The Benton City Council Monday night hired Filkins as a full-time probationary police officer. He began his duties Tuesday.

Filkins resigned his duties in McLeansboro July 5 saying the Benton job provided an opportunity for better benefits and salary.