With the budget setting for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 quickly approaching, Hattiesburg City Council members recently heard from the directors of three city departments regarding requests, ideas and issues for the departments.
Hattiesburg Police Chief Anthony Parker said earlier this year, the department was asked to reduce its staffing. That was accomplished by re-evaluating manpower needs and not filling open positions. The budget also was reduced by an additional 6 percent.
Parker’s first request was for the administration to continue funding professional development.
“This is the second year in a row that we have maintained officer manpower of over 100 officers for a calendar year; we currently have 110 officers,” he said. “That has allowed us to provide better service to the citizens of Hattiesburg.
“As we continue to build skill sets for critical thinking for our officers, that provides another tool for officer retention.”
Parker also requested that the council continue to fund educational items for the department’s partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University.
“We have seen two of our officers earn their undergraduate degrees, and if the council extends this … it would be another tool toward keeping officers in our department,” he said.
Parker also asked for a $10,000 increase for motor vehicle repair parts and outside labor.
“They go hand in hand, because the fleet is getting older,” he said. “The past two years, we didn’t purchase any vehicles, so we’re having to maintain the ones we have now. So that’s why we’re asking for the request there.”
City Engineer Lamar Rutland said one request for this year is to move the personnel from the Geographic Information System division over to engineering.
“We do a lot of GIS on a regular basis, and while GIS has a division within the (Multidisciplinary Design Optimization), I think we could greatly utilize their information technology and resources in that department and combine it with the personnel and engineering department to make our system a little more robust,” Rutland said. “We’ll still be allowed to fill the MDO position for the MDO-related projects, but it would just make greater use of that.
“And with that, we would combine a part-time GIS internship that was previously held, and combine it with a part-time engineering position, and create those into a full-time position to greater meet the needs for the MDO.”
Parks and Recreation Director Chris McGee said his department was asked to institute a 6 percent cut in all of its operational budgets, but the department was able to do so without cutting any staff.
“And we don’t perceive of cutting any staff,” he said. “Most of our cuts are going to come from tightening up our operational budget and streamlining some things that we’ve got in the works.
“You look at the cemeteries, they can take a 6 percent cut. The biggest thing that the cemeteries need are vehicles. That backhoe is what we dig our graves with, and the dump truck is how we take the dirt off.”
McGee also mentioned Grounds and Maintenance, which he called the backbone of every special event the city conducts. That division is involved with grass cutting, mowing right-of-ways, and working the events, among other things.
“Their biggest need is going to be vehicles as well,” McGee said. “You look at those two vehicles there, we had a problem earlier where we could not go get the (inmates), because they cannot ride but two to a vehicle.
“And we did not have a vehicle to go and pick them up, and that’s a big part of our labor, which is the inmates. So that’s why we need to update our fleet.”
