Participation, transparency, relocation of city offices and redistricting – three citizens shared their concerns and complaints on these issues with the Brookhaven City Council this week.

A Browns Loop resident and two pastors took turns to take the podium to present not only their own concerns, but also the concerns of other citizens they represented.

The Rev. Jerry Kelly, who hosts monthly church meetings, said it is the public’s privilege to be informed of certain decisions being made. Although the meetings were publicly announced, “few public officials were present,” Kelly said.

“There is a concern that you don’t want to hear the concerns of the community,” Kelly said. “Many voices are asking, ‘Where are the community leaders, the government leaders that run these districts?'”

When Kelly and several other citizens met with Mayor Joe Cox in June, there was no “firm plan” to move City Hall and offices to the site of the former Hartman-Harrigill Funeral Home on West Chickasaw Street, Kelly said. However, at the body’s second meeting in May, aldermen voted 4-2 to begin contract negotiations and a letter of intent with 101 Chickasaw LLC to lease and renovate the existing building at 101 W. Chickasaw Street. “The city intends to renovate the building for the purpose and use as City Hall,” a news release from the mayor’s office said.

Before a second scheduled meeting with the mayor on July 15, which was later canceled, Kelly said they had seen documents showing the funeral home had been submitted for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in June 2023. Those documents stated the site was “work in progress/City Hall.”

“Why were we talking about something when the paperwork was already done?” Kelly asked from the podium. “It was kind of insulting to have a meeting about something where the decision had already been made.”

At the end of his speech, he called on the city councilors to communicate with the residents of their respective districts “as a whole”.

“They expect you to do your job, and that’s all we really want,” he said. “Because right now they’re more interested in getting you out of those seats than moving bricks to build a new city hall.”

Wilcher, a resident of Ward 1, stepped before the board and said she was there on behalf of the ward and its other residents.

Wilcher said residents were very upset and complained that they had not known about the city’s planned move or the recent redistricting, even though the information had been published several times in the Daily Leader.

“They said they didn’t see it in the newspaper. They don’t get the newspaper,” she said.

The July 15 meeting was canceled that morning, Wilcher said, and as a result, “15 or more” questions remained unanswered.

“What have we planned? Lies,” she said. “It said in the paper that you were going to do this. There are too many hands being passed under the table, too many lies being told, and all of you need to understand this: When it comes to leadership, you need someone to put you in the right position… All of you have let down a lot of citizens here in Brookhaven, and that is sad. … We have to sit here and listen to a bunch of lies… Who can we trust? … None of our questions are being answered. All of you don’t want the citizens to know.”

Wilcher said city residents have not heard anything from their city councilors about “redistricting, city hall or nothing.”

“You all sit on your —– and do nothing but take money and pocket it. I’m sick of it,” Wilcher said.

Rev. Sterling, the last citizen to take the podium, said he did not come “tonight to criticize or point fingers because I don’t believe anything … can be solved by getting at each other’s throats. … The Bible says we should be able to sit down and think together.”

Sterling said his biggest concern, and that of the people he has spoken to, is the relocation of the city’s offices.

“It could be the best thing in the world – I don’t know. It could be the worst thing in the world – I don’t know. And I don’t know because I’ve only heard one side, and the side I’ve heard is that I’m against the move. That’s not to say there isn’t a better side. But people need to know the other side,” Sterling said. “Our nation is divided. Our state is divided. But I don’t want our community to be divided. … We can keep a common peace here in the city.”

The pastor said he understood that the city had to move due to space constraints.

“This (boardroom) is already too small. It’s been too small for some time. Something has to be done somewhere,” Sterling said. “But is there a way to sit down and talk sensibly and come to some sort of conclusion? I want you to consider that.”

Sterling suggested that officials and citizens sit down in a more informal setting and “put everything on the table so it can be explained. Not everyone will go along with it, that’s not going to happen. But at least we can come to a consensus where people can say, ‘Now I understand.'”

The mayor thanked everyone for sharing their concerns.

In other matters, the Board has the following tasks:

• Approved Payment Request 3 from Dickerson & Bowen for completed work on the 2024 Citywide Paving Project in the amount of $465,732.55.
• Approved Payment Request 2 from Mitchell Contracting for work completed on the Ellen Drive Storm Drain Lining Project in the amount of $1,545.
• Approved Payment Request 3 to G Rayborn Contracting for the closure of the City’s Class 1 Solid Waste Landfill in the amount of $539,935.82.
• I have received approval to accept Luke Ramshir’s one-time offer to maintain the city’s flowerbeds at a monthly rate of $2,990.
• Authorized to schedule and announce a public hearing on the fiscal year 2025 budget and proposed utility increases on August 27 at 5:30 p.m.
• Pursuant to Law 17-25-25, the donation of a 2009 Ford Crown Victoria from the Police Department’s inventory to the Bude Police Department was authorized.
• Approved professional services contract with WGK Inc. for the rehabilitation of the Homeseekers Water Tank on Industrial Park Road.
• Approved firefighter training for Captain Marlon Dixon to attend the fire prevention course at the State Fire Academy in Pearl from August 12-15. The cost is $415 plus reimbursement for meals and mileage.
• Authorized Firefighter Cannon Travis to attend the Rope Rescue Awareness and Operations course at the State Fire Academy in Pearl, August 26-29. The cost is $365, plus reimbursement for meals and mileage.
• Approved an equal opportunity housing plan for the city, as required by HUD, as part of the Home Program through Southwest Planning and Development.
• Approved the law enforcement services agreement between the City and the Brookhaven Public School District.
• Approved the reconfirmation of the appointments of the City Court Clerks and their Deputies.
• The termination of Quashan Edwards from the Waste Management Department was approved, effective July 26.
• The termination of summer youth program employees was approved on August 2, effective at the end of the program: Dajuante Smith and Caden Quarles, Street Department; Kaden Charles, Toney Bussey and Andre’ Spiller Jr., Water Department.
• The hiring of Victoria Carter as a certified Patrol Officer 6 with the Brookhaven Police Department has been approved. Her salary is $51,250 per year, subject to drug testing, medical examination and background check. Carter has 25 years of experience.