City of Wiggins Board of Aldermen Recap | August 18, 2026
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 — 5:00 PM Wiggins, Mississippi
At this meeting: The board corrected a water-rate billing error that cut the planned residential base-rate increase from $19.50 to $9.50, approved using the Senior Center as an election location at the Circuit Clerk's request, approved the route for Stone High School's homecoming parade, authorized two new Silverado trucks as unmarked police units, hired a full-time police officer and a Public Works equipment operator, approved a raise for firefighter Kellen Vann and accepted a state tanker grant, and went into executive session on a personnel matter and concerns about underage alcohol sales at the Magnolia One Stop.
Brittany Harris not present
I. Call to Order
II. Invocation
The meeting opened with a prayer asking blessing on the community and its work.
III. Pledge of Allegiance
IV. Approval of the August 18, 2026 Agenda, as Amended
The board amended the agenda to add: Treba Davis, Cynthia Young, and items for the Wiggins Police Department reimbursement/insurance item, approval to use two new Silverado trucks as unmarked units, a discussion of overtime policy for the police department, and the hiring of a part-time officer to full-time status.
Motion to approve the agenda as amended. Passed.
V. Approval of Minutes — Regular Meeting, August 4, 2026
Motion to approve. Passed.
VI. Approval of Docket of Claims — August 18, 2026 (19558 through 19769)
Motion to approve. Passed.
VII. Approval of Payroll — August 7, 2026 and August 14, 2026
Motion to approve. Passed.
VIII. Citizens’ Comments
No citizens signed up to speak during the formal comment period.
IX. Old Business/Tabled Issues
None.
X. New Business
Stone High School Homecoming Parade (added by agenda amendment)
Cynthia Young requested board approval for the Stone High School homecoming parade on Thursday, September 24. Lineup begins at 5:00 p.m. at the new gymnasium at the old high school, with the parade stepping off at 6:00 p.m. and concluding with a community pep rally at Blaylock Park in honor of the homecoming court. The route is amended to match the shorter route used for the city’s Christmas parade in recent years, rather than the traditional (longer) homecoming route. It was noted that the route’s endpoint, the old Fred’s parking lot, is private property and not owned by the city; the property owner has been cooperative with past events but formal permission for use of the lot has not yet been secured.
Motion to approve. Passed.
X.a — Stone County School District: Boyd West
Boyd West, representing the Stone County School District, updated the board on traffic conditions around the new high school, now in its third week of operation. Bus routing has been adjusted to keep buses off Magnolia Drive during the morning arrival period, which has eased much of the congestion seen in the first week; the district credited the Wiggins Police Department for stepping in to direct traffic during that period. The district asked that the city consider a joint traffic study of the Magnolia/Forrest/Highway 49 area if ongoing issues warrant one, and separately asked whether the city would help fund and maintain flashing safety lights on Highway 49 at the north and south approaches to the school zone (noting the school itself does not front Highway 49, so formal jurisdiction is still being worked out).
Mr. West also updated the board on the new football stadium, which now has completed turf and a large district logo across the end zone — the first true home football field in Stone County’s history — and revisited the district’s interest in a stadium sponsorship for the city, similar to existing ads from Bank of Wiggins and Carpet Palace. He acknowledged a full 10-year commitment may not be realistic given changing board composition, but suggested the city and district could work toward that goal in a shorter initial term.
No board vote was taken on either the traffic study or the sponsorship request; both remain open for the board’s consideration.
X.b — CivicPlus Annual Agreement, 2026–2027 ($4,990.65)
Motion to approve. Passed.
X.c — Detention Pond, Legacy Drive
No motion was made on this item. It died for lack of a motion.
X.d — Water Rates
The board revisited the water and sewer rate schedule set at a prior rate workshop. Staff explained that the city’s billing software vendor (BBI) had been supplying inaccurate annual water-consumption data; when corrected using accurate month-by-month figures, the city’s actual revenue is higher than the original rate study assumed. As a result, the base-rate increase needed to fund the previously adopted 115% cost-recovery target is smaller than what was presented at the rate workshop: the combined residential water-and-sewer base increase is corrected to $9.50 (from the $19.50 figure presented earlier), and the commercial base increase is corrected as well. Sewer service continues to be billed at 90% of metered water consumption.
Motion to approve the rate schedule at the corrected 115% figures. Passed.
Election Location (added by agenda amendment)
The request was made from Treba Davis, Stone County Circuit Clerk, not present, to use the city Senior Center as an election location for future elections.
Motion to approve without expense. Passed.
XI. Departments
a. Land Code Administrator
i. Seymour Engineering
The board received an update on Seymour Engineering’s assessment of storm damage to the city building (housing the police department and municipal court). The firm’s architect visited the site the prior week; a full written report of findings and a recommended path forward — likely including roof design and construction, and possibly foundation/soil work — is expected by the end of the week and will be presented at the next meeting.
ii. Land Code Administrator: 2024 Building Code Update
The Land Code Administrator presented a draft ordinance updating the city’s building code to the 2024 edition, noting that state law requires municipalities to adopt the most recent code on its regular three-year cycle and that the city’s code has not been updated since 2009 (based on the 2006 edition). The presentation covered the code official’s existing authority to modify code requirements administratively, provided the modification does not lessen life-safety, structural, wind-load, or similar protections; proposed allowances for certified rough-cut lumber and other alternative materials; expanded permit exemptions for small structures (sheds, RVs, storage buildings, and similar); and a proposed compliance-schedule approach for older Main Street buildings that cannot feasibly retrofit sprinkler systems, using an alternative life-safety plan in place of a strict sprinkler mandate (which state law bars the city from imposing on residential sprinklers in any case). The draft ordinance was described as a work in progress; no vote to adopt was taken.
A routine two-week code enforcement report followed, described as mostly minor electrical items. A related question was raised about securing a right-of-way survey/camera inspection of water lines in an area associated with an upcoming line-replacement project.
b. Police Department
i. Dave (Captain) Roberts — Grants
Captain Roberts briefed the board on two related, non-matching grant packages due for submission the following week: a federal security/task-force grant and a companion state grant.
Motion to approve submission of the grant applications. Passed.
(This approves submission only; award or acceptance of any resulting grant funds would come back to the board separately.)
Captain Roberts also reported that task-force partnership funding already awarded includes $140,000 for two pickup trucks and $30,000 for equipment and repairs, with an additional approximately $30,000 expected in the third quarter (September), contingent on the department maintaining its current level of task-force participation.
Court Case-Management System (OmniCourt)
Captain Roberts presented a proposal to migrate the municipal court’s case-management system from its current platform (Delta) to a cloud-based system (OmniCourt), which would allow electronic filing of affidavits and search warrants, e-signature of warrants by the judge remotely, online payment of tickets and payment plans, and a single consolidated case record in place of the current multi-screen lookup process. The system would carry no upfront cost to the city; instead, cost would be recovered through a per-ticket or per-document technology fee passed on to the person cited (the state caps such fees at $50, and the city’s current $25 remittance leaves room to add a fee within that cap). Board members questioned the arrangement and asked which other jurisdictions use the system. No vote was taken; a formal pricing package and vendor presentation will be brought to a future meeting, with the board asking for more advance notice than was given this cycle given the pending funding deadline tied to the item below.
It was clarified that the police department has no role in enforcing court-ordered fine or payment-plan compliance; only the municipal court can issue a bench warrant or contempt citation for failure to pay.
ii. Building Discussion
See Seymour Engineering update above; the storm-damage assessment for the city building was presented in this portion of the agenda.
iii. Overtime Discussion
The department’s Off Highway Safety grant, which funds targeted traffic enforcement (seatbelts, child restraints, and speeding) beginning October 1, requires the city to have a written overtime policy on file specifying whether overtime is calculated on hours actually worked or on hours including paid leave, among other terms. The city currently has no citywide overtime policy, and pay practices vary even within the police department alone — for example, patrol officers work a 14-day, 86-hour FLSA 7(k) schedule, while dispatchers work the same rotation but have an 80-hour overtime threshold under the current personnel handbook. The board directed the department to bring back two to three policy options for consideration at the next meeting, ahead of the October 1 grant start date.
iv. Magnolia One Stop — Public Nuisance
A citizen told the board that minors — by the citizen’s account, some as young as 13 or 14 — have been obtaining alcohol at the Magnolia One Stop, describing a recent incident in which a child rode a golf cart to the store and returned with alcohol for a nearby gathering. The board discussed referring the matter to executive session (see below).
Unmarked Police Vehicles (added by agenda amendment)
The board considered authorizing the department’s two newly purchased Silverado trucks (acquired with Homeland Security funding) for use as unmarked units. In discussion, the department cited state law permitting municipalities to designate specified unmarked vehicles where marked units would hinder an investigation, and noted comparable practice in nearby jurisdictions.
Motion to approve. Passed.
Personnel: Full-Time Hire (added by agenda amendment)
The board considered moving Officer Santina “Sammy” Moreno from part-time to full-time status, effective September 21, 2026, at a rate of $21.00 per hour.
Motion to approve. Passed.
c. Fire Department
i. Pay Increase — Kellen Vann
Motion to approve a $0.75-per-hour raise for Kellen Vann upon successful completion of the Mississippi Basic Fire Academy. Passed.
ii. D26AS00056 Slip-On Tanker Grant
Motion to accept the grant award (a 200-gallon skid unit, at no cost to the city). Passed.
Safe Surrender (“Baby Box”) Update
The department’s newly installed safe-surrender box was noted; department policies covering Narcan administration and CPS/dispatch protocol still need to be finalized before the program is fully operational.
d. Public Works
i.Archie Gray: New Hire Discussion
The board discussed a new hire in the Public Works water and sewer division. Alderman Damian McKay raised a process concern: the employee had already been hired and begun work before being brought to the board for approval, which he noted departs from the board’s usual practice of reviewing a candidate’s name before hiring. Supervisor Archie Gray was not faulted for the candidate’s qualifications as the employee holds a commercial driver’s license, passed a required drug test, and had already filled in successfully for an absent driver. The board asked that the standard approval process be followed going forward.
Motion to approve the hire as a second equipment operator at $15.50 per hour. Passed.
Dumpster/Roll-Off Procurement
The board discussed procuring a larger (30- to 40-yard) roll-off dumpster for the department. Staff noted formal competitive procurement is required above a roughly $75,000 threshold, but obtaining a few comparison quotes is sufficient below that level for a purchase of this size. Staff was directed to obtain quotes; no vote was taken.
Non-Essential Spending
The board was advised to hold off on non-essential departmental purchases until the new fiscal year begins October 1, 2026, to help preserve the city’s financial position heading into year-end. Essential and emergency spending is unaffected. No formal vote was taken on this recommendation.
ii. Cassandra Arrington — Street Department
The board thanked the Street Department for recent cleanup of a parking lot near the Southern Terminal area.
e. Municipal Court
No report.
f. City Engineer
Engineer Ryan Tice provided project updates:
FBO (airport) bid package is expected to be ready to advertise by the end of the month.
The Highway 29 sewer and water replacement project (associated with the bridge project) has plans submitted and under agency review.
The Woodland Drive water tank has two of its three coats of paint complete; the final gray coat and city logo are expected within two to three weeks, with hope of completion before the first home football game.
On the Highway 47 sewer project (a collapsed line near Sonic crossing to the West Lagoon), intergovernmental agency letters have been received and facility-plan changes are being finalized; additional problem areas have been identified, including a broken manhole at the Flint Creek reservoir and a section behind the “Cowishers” area needing repair. The board agreed the added scope should go out for regular (non-emergency) advertisement, structured as a base bid with an alternate for the additional repairs, rather than delaying the project further.
Tice distributed a citywide paving priority map with an accompanying opinion of probable cost, based on a windshield survey conducted with city staff; he noted the list is not necessarily complete and invited aldermen to identify additional locations in their wards. Roughly half a mile of sewer line in the affected areas would need CCTV inspection before paving in those spots.
He also reported that department heads are compiling a joint submission to a FEMA disaster-assistance portal, due September 2, covering narrative, action plan, and photo documentation across police, fire, road, and public works departments.
Separately, he flagged storm-related damage to a box culvert near the VA building and courthouse road (facing concrete has come loose) for the city’s proactive attention regardless of the FEMA outcome, and gave a brief update on a previously reported settling issue on West Pine Street, attributed to inadequate backfill compaction following a deep utility repair roughly three and a half years ago; the sewer line itself is believed to remain sound.
No board votes were taken on these items; the paving list will be taken up in more detail at a future pavement-infrastructure budget workshop.
g. City Clerk
No report.
XII. Aldermen/Mayor
City Attorney: Bond/Chancery Process
City Attorney reported that she has begun the chancery court process associated with the city’s bond elevation matter, including payment of the filing fee, and that required published notice through the Stone County Enterprise is the next step before a hearing can be set. She anticipates closing out the matter by the end of September.
Motion to approve billing this limited project at a rate of $150.00 per hour (in place of the city’s standard outside counsel rate). Passed.
Motion to approve reimbursement of the filing fee paid by the attorney. Passed.
Draft Interlocal Agreement with Stone County
The City Attorney reported that a rough draft interlocal agreement with the county (addressing shared road work) is underway. The next step is a definitive exhibit listing the specific streets/areas covered and the county’s contribution to each.
Harrison County’s standing (“blanket”) interlocal agreement was raised as a possible model, which allows individual projects to be added over time without renegotiating the full agreement, The City Attorney cautioned against letting the interlocal process delay the separate bond matter above.
No vote was taken; the item is in progress.
Tapping Fee Schedule
The board was given the current tapping fee schedule, which has not been updated in roughly 30 years, with a request to place a formal review on a future agenda alongside the water-rate work.
Ward and Department Updates
Brian gave brief informal updates. One reported a well-attended community recreation event, with additional programming planned into October and November. He reported that the city’s all-star baseball team placed third at the World Series in Baton Rouge (a field of 138 teams), and flagged non-working parking lot lights at a ball field — a separate matter from the Brownfield-site field lighting, which is covered under an existing Mississippi Power LED contract from roughly three years ago.
Fourth Street Truck Traffic
An alderman raised concern about heavy log-truck traffic using Fourth Street, a narrow residential street being used as a workaround connection to the new Highway 29 state route, and suggested the city informally explore a roundabout at the Patton/Fourth Street/Forrest/Parkway intersection, citing a similarly configured roundabout near a school in Oxford as a positive example. A similar concern was raised regarding First Street.
No formal traffic study was requested at this meeting; the suggestion was to raise the idea informally with MDOT first.
Magnolia Drive Speed Limit Signage
The city had requested a 35 mph limit for a specific section of Magnolia Drive (between Fifth Avenue and Azalea Drive); an MDOT crew instead changed signage along the entire Magnolia Drive corridor. Despite repeated requests from the department (the chief noted at least ten calls) MDOT’s local office has not yet corrected the signage. The police department has instituted a 30-day non-enforcement grace period on the affected sections, expected to end on or about September 9, to allow the public time to become aware of the change before enforcement begins.
EDP Fundraiser
The Economic Development Partnership’s annual fundraiser is scheduled for September 29 with tickets at $25 each; the board discussed possibly reserving a city table.
Executive Session
The board considered entering executive session to discuss a personnel matter and the Magnolia One Stop nuisance issue raised above.
Motion to enter executive session. Passed.
Recess
The board recessed until Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. for a budget workshop, per the printed agenda.
The closing moments of the meeting were not captured after the non-public session.