Civic Corner: Board of Aldermen Recap for April 7th Meeting

By Robert Chapman, Alderman-at-Large

Clinton’s Board of Aldermen opened the April 7, 2026, meeting with hearing from Chief of Staff Breana Norton. She discussed with the Board about the City’s efforts into examining standard operating procedures for each department. She revisited the effort at standardizing event sign up requests to streamline the procedure.

The City has been without a full-time director at the Welcome Center, so Breana has been overseeing some of the day-to-day duties. She reported that Friday Nights at Mile Marker 89 is returning on May 15.

Norton was proud to announce the installment of the Mayor’s Youth Council scheduled to begin on May 5. Membership is open to any tenth- to twelfth-grade student living in Clinton or attending a school in Clinton. Applications will be accepted through April 22.

With this being Norton’s first department head report, she closed by saying she was excited and proud to work for the City of Clinton.

“I get to invest in my hometown, the hometown that invested in me.”

Moving into the Action/Discussion portion of the meeting, the Board of Aldermen approved the date for a special election to renew the 2% Restaurant Tax that has already benefited the City’s parks. The special tax must be renewed by special election every four years.

With the date set for Tuesday, June 9, 2026, the Board also authorized an agreement with Pharos Consulting Services, who will provide election support services, as well as an agreement with Election Systems & Software for lease of the election machines.

Phase II of the Rising Springs project was the focus for the next two motions. The Board authorized the consolidation of two changes into a single change order and executed another change order to extend a contract with McInnis Systems, Inc. through the end of April.

Police Chief Ford Hayman presented three requests, starting with a need to purchase four new computer towers for the department’s dispatch center. The Board approved the purchase of these towers from Howard Technologies for $12,500.

The Board also approved a request to renew a Memorandum of Understanding between the police department and the Central Mississippi Children’s Advocacy Center “Christians in Arms.”

Finally, the Board approved a request for the police department to lease ALPR cameras from Insight LPR for $35,000 through March 31, 2027.

Parks and Recreation Director Courtney Nunn and Meghan Giompoletti with Clinton Softball Organization requested the City accept a bid for the demolition and construction of a new Softball 4-Plex Concession Stand. This is one of the projects that has been funded by the Special 2% Restaurant Tax. The bid was awarded to Richard Womack Construction.

The Board approved the advertising for the 2026 street paving improvements, estimating a total of 3.9 miles of road to be paved this year.

The Board approved a dimensional variance request for the construction of an accessory building from Shane Orman Construction, followed by a site plan review approving the plans for a ground-mounted sign at Pedro’s Tacos.

The Board reviewed an architectural review for Mid-State Firearms as they seek to replace the shingled roof with a metal roof. The Board added the recommendations offered by the architectural review board to the motion that was approved.

The Board approved the hiring of one certified police officer and two uncertified police officers as well as increasing the hourly pay rate for a dispatcher who received new certification.
The Board approved the hiring of two maintenance workers for the City’s Public Works’ Department and took action to terminate an employee during an executive session.

The Board closed out the meeting with an additional item added to the agenda. Director of Public Works Phillip Lilley sought approval to apply for a Community Development Block Grant to benefit maintenance efforts of sewer lines in the Briars neighborhood.

If awarded this grant, the 10% match funds will come from the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Space will be provided in each issue of The Clinton Courier to the Board of Aldermen for a recap of each meeting. Aldermen are asked to volunteer to provide this recap for the Courier.