A public hearing for the city of Yazoo City’s proposed budget and tax levies for the upcoming fiscal year was originally scheduled to be held this month. But Mayor David Starling announced during Monday’s city council meeting that the hearing will not be held as scheduled.
A new date was not shared with the public as of press time. When the hearing is rescheduled, any citizen is invited to attend and will be allowed to speak for a reasonable amount of time and offer tangible evidence before any vote is taken.
City Clerk John Carroll said the proposed budget and tax levies were not available as of press time. But he said copies of the proposal will be available to the public at the public hearing, whenever it is rescheduled.
In other city budget news, a former city clerk has been hired by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen as an independent contractor to assist with the budget preparation.
The city council held a special call meeting on Aug. 10 to discuss the city’s budget preparation. According to the board minutes, Mayor David Starling said it was in the city’s best interest to hire Williams following the resignation of the city’s accountant.
“Mayor David Starling wanted the record to reflect that he is not confident in the city clerk’s ability to prepare the 23/24 fiscal year budget in light of the resignation of the accountant,” the minutes said. “After speaking with the board attorney and the Board of Aldermen, he feels it is in the best interest of the city to bring in an independent contractor to help the city clerk with the budget.”
A letter of resignation from Marshall Conico, who has served as the city’s accountant for several years with the Jackson, Braswelll, Mullins, and Bailey firm, was submitted to the city weeks ago.
Starling moved to hire former city clerk Kaneilia Williams as an independent contractor at a cost of $3,000 a month “to aid City Clerk John Carroll with the 2023/2024 fiscal year budget.” His motion was approved. Alderwoman Elizabeth Thomas said she had no objection to hiring Williams, but she wanted to ensure the city could afford her salary, totaling $6,000.
“Alderwoman Thomas wanted the record to reflect that her concerns are still with the budget,” the minutes said. “Do we have funds in the budget to cover the cost of Ms. Williams’ $3,000 a month for the next two months for her help with the city budget?”
