McComb Mayor Whitney Rawlings got little input at Tuesday night’s city board work session when the subject turned to establishing a search process for a new city administrator.
“The city administrator’s position is an appointment of the governing body,” Rawlings said. “We need to start talking about moving forward, build our search criteria, such as education and experience, and a job description.”
The position remains vacant following the mayor’s tie-breaking vote last month to fire former city administrator Quordiniah Lockley.
The mayor asked selectmen for their comments and ideas, resulting in notable silence.
Two comments finally came from selectmen Michael Cameron and Ted Tullos.
“I’m sure there are a lot of recent college graduates who’d love to get a job like this,” Tullos said.
Then Michael Cameron asked about education requirements for candidates.
“Will experience count towards a degree?” Cameron asked.
The mayor said that would likely depend on what selectmen put into the job description.
“Well, that’s what we need to decide here,” Rawlings said. “What are we going to require of candidates?”
Discussion on the subject ended there, but officials are likely to revisit the matter at next week’s board meeting.
The board has been operating with two deputy city administrators in the interim. Janice Dillon, the city comptroller, is serving as the city’s chief financial officer and overseeing operations involving finance, administration, zoning and permits, municipal court, and water and sewer. Recreation director Joseph Parker is overseeing operations involving fire, police and public works.
Lockley sat in the audience for the fourth straight week since his dismissal, but he didn’t address the board.
In other business, the board also discussed other items likely to come up during next week’s board meeting, including:
• Approving the mayor’s appointment of Michael Cameron as mayor pro-tem.
• Authorizing the hiring of law firm Butler-Snow LLP for a $2 million bond issue. Board attorney Wayne Dowdy explained that certain procedures must be done that include authorization from the state bond attorney’s office, Dowdy filing the proper paperwork with chancery court and then hiring Butler-Snow to sell the bonds. The total for fees in this process will be about $40,000, he said.
• Filling the vacancy on the historic preservation commission. “We haven’t had anyone come in and say they would like to serve.”
• Choosing the voting delegates for the upcoming Mississippi Municipal League conference. They chose Selected Selectman Ronnie Brock as a delegate, Selectwoman Tammy Witherspoon as the first alternate, and Cameron as the second alternate.
• Addressing the conduct of meetings and deadline for submitting agenda items. “I’ve talked to all of the department heads about this so we can have everyone on the same page,” Rawlings said. “... I’ve asked everyone to plan ahead and get things on the docket the Wednesday before Tuesday meetings.
• Addressing budget concerns with Janice Dillon. “As a city administrator I am required to make you aware that we have fallen below what we said we would maintain for cash flow. Our goal is to have $3 million at the end of the year to have a healthy cash flow for the end of the year — October, November and December,” she said.
Rawlings reminded selectmen they needed to begin considering next year’s budget, which takes effect Oct. 1.
“We need to start thinking about what we want in the budget for 2015-16,” he said. “We need to decide what we want in there. For instance, I would like to see the city get back on a strong milling and street overlay program again.”
• Approving the final payment to Greenbriar Digging Services of Brookhaven for work done to the water system under Pearl River Avenue.
• Approving a bid for a water line to be extended along Highway 570 and at the intersection of Enterprise Road, to a site that will hook up the city’s utilities to a Dollar General that is being built.
• Approving the purchase of two Dodge 5500 Crew Cab trucks for the fire department, paid for with a Homeland Security grant.
• Approving an interlocal agreement between the city, Pike County, Brookhaven and Walthall County and the Southwest Mississippi Narcotics Unit.
