The McComb Fire Department bolstered its ranks Tuesday night when the city board unanimously voted to hire four firefighters.
And Mayor Whitney Rawlings said this morning that he will continue to push a proposal that will require city employees to live within city limits.
Selectmen hired Chris Hills, Eric Boyd, Kris Smith and Neil Sumrall to replace three firefighters who have resigned from the force and one who is deployed to Afghanistan.
Selectmen voted on the matter a week after Rawlings suggested delaying a vote until the Oct. 25 board meeting so the board could discuss the residency issue at next week’s work session.
Rawlings said Tuesday that he was reluctant to put a vote for the four firefighters on the agenda while the board is considering a proposal to require city employees to live in the city limits within a year of their hiring date.
“The city indicated they’d be hired,” Rawlings said. “A couple submitted resignations to their previous jobs. We decided the city will fulfill its commitment to these firefighters.”
The residency requirement will likely be discussed at next week’s work session. The newly hired firefighters will not be subject to the residency mandate if the measure is passed at the next board meeting.
“I think we would be right in making that change,” Rawlings said. “We as a board are trying to rebuild this community. I think this is just a step in that direction.
“Where you live, I think it’s important. Our police and firefighters should live around citizens and have a feel for what’s going on in the community.”
In other business, the board:
• Approved Donald Dick to fill an appointment for Term E of the McComb Housing Authority Board, which opened when Jewel D. Rushing died last month, by a 4-2 vote with Andranette Jordan and Melvin Joe Johnson opposed. They both cast their vote for Nancy Lazenby.
• Approved a reimbursement of $5,570 to the city of Vicksburg for fees paid to the Mississippi Law Enforcement Academy for training received by Joshua Brown, who is employed by the police department.
• Approved a request from the McComb-Pike County Airport Board for grant matching funds for expansion and improvements of airport property in the amount of $11,954. The board also approved a budget amendment of $10,400 to handle the city’s annual contribution to the airport.
• Rescinded a section of the city personnel policy that allowed department heads to substitute an employee’s leave time in place of suspension without pay.
• Approved an ordinance amending the city’s land use regulations ordinance in the city with regard to special-use permits. The ordinance is newly defined as “land use not listed as a permitted use of a certain zoning district” and lays out new requirements for obtaining the permit. People and businesses who are granted a special-use permit are required to make an appearance before the planning commission every three months. If the permit is not put to its intended use with in a year, it will be revoked.
