NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - Natchez leaders now have a chance to shape and mold the future of the city clerk’s office by appointing the person who controls the city’s finances.
But who that person will be, what qualifications city leaders will require of the position and how the clerk is compensated will all be decided in the coming months.
The Mississippi State Attorney General’s office approved a proposed change to the city’s charter that would allow the city clerk position to go from an elected to an appointed one.
The Natchez Board of Aldermen moved to make the proposed change in August, more than a year after it was first suggested when board members said the change would allow them to require higher standards of the city clerk’s office.
City Clerk Donnie Holloway has already said he did not have plans to run again in 2016. After serving 12 years in the position, Holloway was re-elected as city clerk in 2012.
Holloway tells The Natchez Democrat (https://bit.ly/1uRUPDW) he plans to serve out his term.
Changing the city’s charter required approval from the governor and the state attorney general, which City Attorney Hyde Carby said he received earlier this week.
While each member of the board might differ on exactly what they hope to see in that position right now, they all agree that having someone in the office before Holloway leaves would be ideal.
Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis said she thinks a new clerk should be appointed by no later than late spring 2016.
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Information from: The Natchez Democrat, https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/
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