More interviews set for two city positions


Thursday, August 24, 2006
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More interviews set for two city positions

By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer

Holly Springs aldermen and the mayor are holding a second round of interviews for applicants for police chief and general manager of the utility department this week.

The motion to reinterview all the candidates - four for police chief and two for general manager - took place in executive session with Alderman Tim Liddy making a motion seconded by Alderman Nancy Hutchens to reinterview the two candidates for general manager. The motion passed 4-1 with Alderman Naylond Hayes casting an opposing vote. A motion to reinterview the four candidates for police chief was made by Hutchens and seconded by Liddy and passed unanimously.

The two important leadership positions have been vacant for awhile - with the police chief position open for over two years and the general manager’s position open since April.

The matter of urgency to fill the two positions was broached in open session by Alderman Russell Johnson twice.

“I have a community concern, (regarding) the chief of police and manager of the utility department,” Johnson said following a budget request from the president of the Chamber of Commerce. “I hope we can put this on the agenda. The chief of police has been vacant 25 months. This is a concern of the citizens and as alderman I get questioned daily.”

“The concern needs to be brought to a resolution,” said Mayor Andre’ DeBerry before going on with business on the agenda, including taking reports from the fire chief and director of information technology.

DeBerry then raised the topic of scheduling budget hearings with the board of aldermen and added that he wanted a motion to advertise the position for community development director recently left vacant by the death of Ruben Pegues.

“I have some recommendations to the board for the budget,” DeBerry said.

“I think before we advertise, we need to clearly define that position (the job description),” Johnson said.

DeBerry said he envisions the community development office expanding its role and serving as a clearing house for information to development groups like the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority (IDA).

DeBerry then addressed the process of hiring key personnel like department heads which is born by the board of aldermen and mayor, as a response to Johnson’s concern.

“There will never be a total source of absolute agreement with what we do,” he said, “of being human.

“I will say to the board (during) this whole process I think some may have questioned my motives. They are totally legitimate and honest.

“I do think at this point in time I have to stand up for a general principal and one I have to stand on. At the end of the day, I think we are better served when we work together. I welcome dissension.

“Alderman Johnson, you are right. You have been bombarded and everybody here has been bombarded.”

DeBerry then discussed two candidates for general manager of the utility department while aldermen thumbed over their resumes.

“Are we supposed to open this (discuss this in open session)?” Johnson asked.

“Personnel is one matter you can go in closed session or you can discuss it openly,” said Ki Jones, board attorney.

“What I am trying to do is lay out something about personnel itself,” DeBerry said.

He then discussed some of the strengths he sees in the two candidates for general manager and how their salary requirements could play in the decision of whom to hire without stating what the requests were.

Hayes asked the mayor whether one of the candidates agreed to move to Holly Springs.

“Yes,” said the mayor.

Johnson said he had missed the first interview with that candidate and would not want to be in the position to cast a deciding vote, since he had not met the man.

Hayes then motioned to hire one of the candidates.

“I strongly recommend without reservation and move we hire (name withheld by report out of fairness to the candidates) as general manager,” said Hayes.

The motion died for lack of a second.

Liddy then motioned to go into executive session to discuss all the candidates for the two positions.

Several members of the audience who came to the board meeting to await the vote to hire a police chief and general manager objected.

Liddy said the board would be in executive session just a few minutes.

When the board came out of executive session, W.A. McMillan asked to address the chairman.

“After three years of looking for a chief of police and six months for a person in charge of utilities, could it be possible you need more time for that?” he asked. “You table that and call your executive session after we sat here 50 minutes.

“If it is going to be open session, it should be open for the public. I have a suggestion. I hope you will give it careful consideration. It does hurt many of us (to sit and wait).”

In other business, the board of aldermen:

heard a request for $25,000 to fund the Year 2007 budget of the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce.
Joanne Huff, president, presented a summary of activities of the chamber for the year including a table showing the sources of funding for 11 chambers.

Holly Springs and Ripley do not receive contributions from the city governments while others like the town of Byhalia made generous contributions to their area chambers. The Town of Byhalia provided $10,000 to the Byhalia Area Chamber of Commerce in 2006 and the Marshall County Board of Supervisors supported both Chambers to the tune of $6,000 each.

Holly Springs’ chamber, which operated on a budget of $43,000 last year, raised $25,000 and collected $22,000 from dues. Huff said paid membership is down in Holly Springs, and the chamber needs support from governing bodies to hire someone to help executive director Susan Jordan with communications at the office.

Booneville, a city of comparable population and county with 10,000 less population, operated on a budget of $164,100 in 2006, raising $60,000 from dues, and receiving $40,600 from the city and $58,500 from Prentiss County.

Huff said the Holly Springs chamber does not feel it can raise its dues to membership with businesses downtown already strapped financially and competing with corporate giants for business.

DeBerry said the City of Holly Springs, with a budget of $7 million and high costs to provide services which it has no control over, understands the position of the chamber.

“I would like to know if this is a one-time request or continually,” he said.

“Continually,” said Huff. “We have lost membership and basically, we are trying to do what we can with the budget we have. Most chambers on this list have a $100,000 a year budget. It is impossible for one person (Jordan) to do everything. We need another person.”

Huff said the Chamber serves the entire city, yet the Tourism Bureau has a $100,000 a year budget and serves only the historic tour base.

“How can we create that climate?” DeBerry asked.

“The Main Street program is a vehicle for that to happen,” said Huff. “We promote the city the best we can, but they are struggling and most can’t afford to do business on the square.”

She mentioned the closing of historic City Cafe on the square, citing high utility costs as one reason for going out of business.

Business needs some incentives or encouragement to invest in the square, Huff said.

“I understand, but the toughest issue to deal with is due to budget constraints,” DeBerry said.

Huff cited concerns which the chamber believes are holding the downtown area back, the lack of money to bring in a Main Street program and the difficulty in getting businesses rolling and providing services to members. Due to a fall in membership the chamber can not offer as many services to the business community without more office help, she said.

“Are you losing membership?” DeBerry asked.

“Yes, we’re losing paid members,” Huff said. “There are people who are not paying their dues.”

She said most chambers get financial support from governing bodies.

“It is hard to do without support,” she said. “We may even close the chamber. It is all-volunteer run and we all work hard.”

Board director Annie Moffitt appealed to the mayor for support to fund a position at the chamber office.

“We need someone to help recruit and collect dues,” Moffitt said. “Most people (outsiders) come to the chamber office first and are not just tourists. We’re really struggling and it’s really hard.”

DeBerry said some issues the city has to keep in mind are costs of services and the tax base.
heard the city has received a new camera from the U.S. Department of the Army to use in assessing the conditions inside a structure fire.
received a report from IT director Ken Robinson. He reviewed workforce training programs at the IT Center and said the work of installing a new telephone system in the city departments will begin in September.
opened bids for residential and small commercial solid waste collection and disposal. The sole bidder was Resourceful Environmental Services bidding $9.25 per container per month for residential customers and $10.50 per container per month for small commercial.
heard a call for community seminars to educate citizens on preparedness for crises from Albert L. Jones. He said parents should be educated on what they should do to be prepared for emergencies at their business or home.

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