Hattiesburg’s city council meeting played host for three public hearings and addressed a full agenda on Tuesday evening. Mayor Toby Barker and chief financial officer for the city, Malcolm Berch, presented the city’s proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year. Barker placed emphasis on public safety, naming it the number one priority for the city. Included in the proposed budget was pay raises across the board for police and fire departments.
“In an era where it’s harder to recruit people in the first responder roles, particularly police, hopefully, give some incentive for people to go into the police and fire academy to begin with,” said Barker. “That’s got to be our strategy- retain what we have, and then grow officers through the Hattiesburg Academy.”
The council approved an increase of 2 mils to the current millage rate to help cover the costs of the pay raises. This will cause a slight increase in property taxes for Hattiesburg residents, as an increase of 2 mils equates to a $2 increase for every $1,000 of the property’s assessed value.
“This is only the third time, I think, in the last 25 years that the City of Hattiesburg has raised millage,” said Barker. “But it’s to make sure that we have sufficient police and fire presence in our city to keep our neighborhoods safe, and I think that’s an investment worth making.”
A public hearing was also held concerning a property located at 313 Mable Street. The property owner and appellant, Gus Georgian, had his request to move the house on the property denied by the Hattiesburg Historic Conservation Commission with a 5-0 vote on July 9. Russell Archer with HHCC presented documentation on the property, which contributes to the National Register District, and the Hattiesburg Historic Design Guidelines which state, “Properties listed in the National Register should be moved when there is no feasible alternative for preservation.” The property has been vacant for at least three years, creating issues with securing the property against unauthorized entry.
“Gus, this is his family’s home, and he wants to keep it,” said Georgian’s cousin, Pam Hamilton, who was present for the hearing on behalf of the property owner. She told the council that restoring the property was not financially feasible for Georgian, but that he did not want to sell the property. Instead, Georgian wants the house on the property to be relocated to a property outside the city limits. Hamilton did, however, state that Georgian would be willing to sell the property for $125,000. The council ultimately voted 3-2 to deny the appeal.
A second public hearing was held to determine if the following properties are in such a state of uncleanliness so as to be a menace to the health and safety of the community:
-133 East 9th Street
-313 Martin Luther King Avenue
-315 May Avenue
-706 Bouie Street
The council did adopt the resolutions against those properties, granting authority to Code Enforcement to clean up and secure them if the property owners do not do so in a timely manner. Additional business conducted at the meeting is as follows:
-Approval of the minutes for the August 18 & 19 meetings of the city council
-Adoption of an ordinance amending and restating Article II of the City Council Procedures, sections 2-60 through 2-70 of the Code of Ordinances to provide for meetings, recessed meetings, special meetings, agenda review meetings, work sessions and procedures for agenda preparation and adoption
-Adoption of a resolution to authorize an application for a loan through the Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund Program for the North Main Street Area Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project
-Adoption of a resolution authorizing the submission of a grant application to the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Funding
-Approval of an agreement between the city and the United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration to provide assistance to the Hattiesburg DEA taskforce
-Approval of a Task Force Agreement between the Hattiesburg Police Department and the DEA concerning the use and abuse of controlled substances
-Approval of contractor and owner agreements for the Roof Repair according to the Emergency Roof Repair Initiative Manual
-Approval of release of lien documents filed in relation to code enforcement clean-up assessments
-Approval of engagement of Anderson Natural Resources, LLC to provide appraisal and professional services related to the merchantable timber adjacent to Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport
-Approval of letter of engagement with Topp, McWhorter, Harvey, PLLC to audit the financial statements of the City of Hattiesburg for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025
-Approval of grant offer from the Mississippi Transportation Commission for the Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport Project
-Adoption of resolutions making the following appointments:
-Hardy Sims as Police Chief
-Wiley Quinn as director of the Urban Development Department
-Sherrocko Stewart as Fire Chief
-Marybeth Bergin as City Engineer and director of Transportation and Engineering
-Alan Howe as director of Water and Sewer
-Ronnie Perkins as director of Public Works
-Betsy Mercier as director of the Parks and Recreation Department
-Phillip McSwain as Municipal Court Clerk
-Brian Bledsoe as Municipal Court Judge, Post 1
-Gay Polk-Payton as Municipal Court Judge, Post 2
-Mary Moore-Conville as Municipal Court Judge Pro Tem
-Approval and authorization of a grant application to CHEMTREC for the Help Award grant
-Approval and authorization of acceptance of unadvertised bid in the amount of $29,500 from Gray Builders for the construction of a pavilion near the Roger Wicker Bridge, Hall Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive
-Adoption of a resolution levying ad valorem taxes on all taxable properties within the city for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2025 and ending on Sept. 30, 2026
-Approval of the entire routine agenda and claims docket
