Whether it’s a result of bad timing or a quiet sign of a worse situation, the resignations of three key officers of the city of McComb imply that the simple task of day-to-day operations will be difficult for a while.
My guess, and it’s honestly just a guess, is that the three departures just happened to occur at the same time.
City administrator David Myers had worked long enough to maximize his state retirement package.
Police Chief Juan Cloy, a veteran of law enforcement, surely has a good retirement plan as well, and from my vantage point he seemed detached from the job in recent months.
City attorney Marcus Williams, working part-time, had family considerations, and the travel from out of town for city board meetings had to be tiresome.
Even so, it’s easy for critics to think that these resignations, and any other problems that come to mind, are a sign of dysfunction and mismanagement of the city.
The fears of the worst are understandable. It doesn’t help that the state Department of Revenue has started withholding money from the city as a penalty for getting so far behind with its bookkeeping.
The department’s first withholding was a whopping $330,000. And there are apparently more penalties coming.
In spite of all the resignations and the hand-slap from the state, I suspect the single biggest problem the city has faced in recent years is its inability to keep people with a financial background on the staff.
Any business — and a municipal government is a business — that gets three years behind on its annual audits is asking for trouble. And sure enough, a social media whisper campaign has started, claiming the problems in McComb are worse than anyone realizes.
This prompted a response Friday from Mayor Quordiniah Lockley. During a city board work session, he criticized anonymous online commentary calling for his resignation. He said he’s staying on the job, and allegations that he’s done anything wrong with any city money are false.
It’s important to note there are no such allegations of wrongdoing against the mayor.
But let’s go back to the city clerk and anyone else who has experience in financial management. The ongoing problem has been that the city cannot keep enough of these people on the payroll. The city clerk’s job in particular has seen regular turnover in the last few years. Why is this?
A definitive answer won’t come from a newspaper column. But I will gently point out one thing.
Since the summer of 2018, when a new city board took office, there has been all sorts of drama in McComb government. Department heads released, employees departing, a complete change of all six selectmen in 2022 — it’s been a steady stream of change that makes the three recent resignations look like just another normal day.
Again, gently: McComb government has had only one common denominator over the past seven years. I’ve known him since 1984, consider him a good man and a personal friend, but the mayor is that common denominator. He’s the only one who’s been in City Hall this whole time.
I have no sage advice, no stern lecture, nothing. Some people surely think, oh, it’s a black majority, see what happens? I’m not buying it.
Lockley knows the city, like many others in Mississippi, is having trouble keeping up with its finances. Maybe Job 1 is getting, and keeping, a capable financial person on staff. Pay whatever it takes. The audit delays are embarrassing.
Next up would be finding a new police chief. I do think it would help if the next chief is from this area.
Criticism comes with any elected office. But there is a way to mute it: Get things running smoothly.
