Mayor Charles Terry - first 100 days in office

Holly Springs Mayor Charles Terry has been in the saddle for 100 days. He is no stranger to a job like this, having served three terms as District 1 supervisor of Marshall County.

There are similarities and there are differences in the two positions.

His work as District 1 supervisor did not put him in the position to supervise employees as directly as his new job as mayor does.

“In contrast, the day-to-day operations of it – everything now that goes through the office falls on me more or less in this position as opposed to being a supervisor,” he said. “I’ve told my aldermen, it’s basically the same direction you are going. It basically reads the same, but the jobs are not that great a difference.”

He said it benefited him to have served as supervisor. “It’s been a challenging 100 days and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, knowing I have done something for somebody,” he said.

“This seat has greater challenges.” he said. Having to work your way through situations at hand is a greater ocean to navigate through.”

He said he has a special feeling for employees, especially those in City Hall who are getting to know him.

“We learn different things about each other,” he said. “I like to share laughs with people. And working with department heads, I am getting to know some of them.”

He said he handles the new experience and compares it to his job as a coach of amateur ball teams.

“It’s getting the trust of the team,” he said.

He said when he makes a mistake he wants people to tell him.

“It’s something I’ve never been afraid of when I’m wrong,” he said. “I take constructive criticism. When I make a mistake I’d rather hear the truth than a person just pat me on the back.”

One aspect employees and the public like is Terry’s open door policy.

“You may have to wait your turn, but I haven’t had to turn anybody away yet,” he said.

The greatest challenge the first 100 days as mayor was to seek ways to fund the budgets.

“Regardless of what dreams you have, you can’t do anything without revenue,” he said.

Within the first month, the city was put on notice by the Mississippi Department of Audit that it was holding the up to $450,000 in sales tax revenue to pay for an audit of the city and the HSUD.

“I am grateful we were able to go to a local bank and get a loan to make payroll, the first major challenge we had,” he said.

The city applied for loans to help make payroll through the end of the year when money will begin coming in from ad valorem taxes in January and February 2026.

The crisis of a revenue shortfall came just as the city was denied any more PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Tax) from the HSUD until HSUD pays its debts to the Tennessee Valley Authority (about $8 million in arrears) and to its vendors.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was the Mississippi Auditor holding tax revenues. He expects the auditor to resume sending sales tax revenues to the city in November.

“It’s a good time for us to learn how to operate in the lean times, to manage our spending,” he said. “It’s a financial challenge, but we will get through this day-to-day.”

He said the city is moving forward day-by-day, doing what it can to set the city and the HSUD on a sound financial foundation.

“If we can have the patience of the people,” he said. “The board works together to work as a team. Once we get that, we can continue farther and faster.”

Terry said he’s older than most of the aldermen – knew them as the younger kids in school.

“I told Ms. Clayborn, we are the real grandparents, the real senior citizens here in City Hall,” he said.

Terry was born in Monroe County, the son of Annie Dilworth and Charlie Terry. At age 8, Terry moved with his mother and stepfather Earl “Doc” Lesure from Amory to Holly Springs. He has three sisters and a half-brother.

He entered elementary school at Frazier Elementary on West Valley Street. After graduating high school, Terry attended Northwest Mississippi Junior College where he studied welding.

“I’ve been a hands-on type of person all my life,” he said.

His first big job, where he remained employed 35 years was with Bellsouth, that changed its name to South Central Bell and eventually to AT&T.

He began field work starting out as a service technician and ended up in construction at AT&T.

“That gave me some of the skill sets for working with people,” he said.

He said a person has to learn the technique of isolating the trouble before you repair it, which is similar to his career as a supervisor and now as mayor.

Terry also drove a school bus for the Holly Springs School District, his first route taking him to the Rising Star area in his beginning year of 2009 and ending his final route off West Street, in 2025.

Before running for supervisor, and often after election as supervisor of District 1, Terry could often be found hanging out with retired guys seated on a bench solving the world’s problems at Donald Street’s service station.

It was Heyman Madlock who talked him into getting into politics at the station.

“For a long time, when people were looking for me, I told them I’m going to the office (the service station) where I hung out with retirees and bike riders,” he said.

He was a master link in the chain that formed the Bikers and Blues music festival in Holly Springs prior to being elected supervisor.

“I miss those days,” he said. He and wife Willa have two children, Tanya and son Charles “Chuck” and granddaughter Kennedy. He would be remiss if he didn’t name his sisters Edith Taylor, Diane Lesure, and Debra Terry and half brother Tim Terry. He said Purvene Anderson and Pat Waldrop are sister-in-laws on his wife’s side of the family, he has to mention. He and Willa have been married 54 years. “Willa has accepted the change very well,” he said. “But she can’t get used to being called First Lady.”

Closing remarks

Terry said he is pleased the Police Department has been strengthened with the hiring of Grant Glover as Chief of Police, and Dwight Harris as assistant police chief.

“I hear people say they see more police presence on the street making the city safe,” he said.

Terry anticipates economic growth in housing and warehousing in the city. He has met with representatives of D.H. Horton regarding building housing in the city and with a warehousing representative interested in moving to the industrial park in town.

He has been to a couple of ribbon cuttings of new or reopening businesses.

“Small businesses are the backbone generating sales tax revenue,” he said.

Regarding the concern with the Utility Department, Terry is working with several consultants to help the utility restore its financial standing and get billing current, “so rate payers can trust us and feel like they are getting their money’s worth.”

Couple of side notes, Terry has a sweet tooth and keeps something sweet on his desk and in the boardroom. He said he likes to keep his tongue busy when he’s listening and uses the candy bowl as an ice breaker when people come in the office.

Someone made him a nice plaque with a scripture he keeps in his office. Another friend gave him a book of daily meditations which he reads and writes notes in and keeps on his desk.