NATCHEZ, Miss. – Aldermen decided Tuesday to bring back a former city clerk to replace Servia Fortenberry, who’s resigning as Natchez’ chief financial officer.
Megan Edmonds McKenzie got the job after Mayor Dan Gibson and aldermen interviewed her and two other applicants. McKenzie was city clerk until she resigned in August 2018 after 18 months.
The public was closed out of the Board of Aldermen’s discussions Tuesday about why she’s the most qualified of the three candidates interviewed for the job.
McKenzie’s salary is being negotiated, but the pay is to be around $75,000 a year, according to the city website’s job portal.
In their brief open meeting Tuesday to vote for McKenzie’s hiring, aldermen did say the two other unnamed applicants are also qualified to be city clerk and could be offered other jobs at City Hall.
Gibson said McKenzie is expected to start work as city clerk on Monday.
“She has also worked in the (Adams County) Circuit Clerk’s office and owns Janel’s Bakery with her mother,” Gibson said in a statement issued today. “While we were lucky to interview three great candidates for this position, we believed Megan’s previous experience in City Hall as our city clerk made her stand out.
“She is already familiar with the city’s accounting software, governmental procedure, proper record keeping and all of the aspects of that department. We are excited to welcome her to our team at City Hall as we continue the Natchez Renewal.”
Fortenberry announced in October she’s resigning after serving two years on the job. She said she wants to spend more time with family and other endeavors. She was McComb’s city clerk before taking the Natchez post in November 2019.
Fortenberry was Natchez’ fifth city clerk – not including two interim clerks – since 2016, when alderman made the previously elected position an appointed post to ensure someone more competent could manage City Hall’s financial affairs, which had been plagued for several years by sloppy bookkeeping. Donnie Holloway left office in June 2016 after serving 16 years as the elected city clerk.
Aldermen fired the city’s first appointed clerk — Wendy McClain — in August 2016 for undisclosed violations of city policies. Melissa Hawk replaced her but resigned in January 2017 after only five months in a job an audit later said she was not sufficiently trained to do. McKenzie then served as city clerk for the subsequent 18 months.
She was later replaced by Charles Crump, who resigned in acrimony in September 2019 after seven months as city clerk.
Inept and poorly trained clerks – along with high staff turnovers — in past years contributed to many financial errors and backlogged bookkeeping for the city. Gibson and aldermen have credited Fortenberry for improvements made the past two years as Natchez’ longest-serving clerk since 2016.
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Mayor Dan Gibson and city aldermen are considering pay raises for Public Works Department employees as too many are quitting for better wages elsewhere.
“We are in a dire situation. We have a fraction of the manpower we used to have,” said Gibson, who noted the department is about seven employees short of what it needs.
The Public Works Department provides various essential services, such as maintaining streets, cutting grass, addressing water-drainage problems and responding to weather-related disasters.
“We have to have the manpower if we’re going to take care of the city,” Gibson said.
While the Board of Aldermen recently gave 8 percent raises to Public Works employees, the less-than-$12-an-hour wage some get is still too low, Gibson said.
He said pay-raise proposals will be reviewed by the Board of Aldermen later this month.
The Public Works Department should have about 18 employees when fully staffed, according to information posted by the city.
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