Only seven months after his arrival, Yazoo City’s building inspector submitted his resignation.
Arnold Woods, the city’s building inspector and code enforcement officer, resigned from his position effective immediately. His resignation was accepted by the city leaders last month, according to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s Aug. 25 board minutes.
The city is currently accepting applications for one of the community’s most vital departments, which has seen its share of turnover since the spring of 2024. The building department had not been fully staffed since April of 2024 following the resignation of Danny Neely as code enforcement officer. Several weeks later, Richard Patterson also resigned from his post as building inspector.
Following the resignations of both Neely and Patterson, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved to hire Peter Gower as the interim building inspector and code enforcer in August of 2024. Alderman Macklyn Austin was the sole opposing vote. Gower would later resign from the position as well.
The city council then hired Woods on Jan. 13 with an annual salary of $61,000. He was then reappointed by city leaders to maintain his position last spring when other department heads were brought to the table for the routine reappointments.
Last July, it appeared as if the process of addressing dilapidated properties within Yazoo City had returned to the city’s operation after several months of inaction. With Woods at the helm, public hearings on dilapidated and unkempt properties were scheduled.
However, the process has been absent from the board agenda since then. With Woods’ resignation and the position remaining open, the lengthy procedures appear to be on hold yet again.
