The need to update the Contractor Licensing Ordinance after the passing of a legislative house bill was discussed at the City of Newton Mayor and Board of Aldermen on Nov. 19.
Deputy Clerk Demarius Evans informed the board that the changes needed to the city’s contractor licensing ordinance stems from Mississippi Legislative House Bill 1163. The law, that went into effect in July of 2022, requires all cities and counties to issue permits for construction work and amends the current law to require contractors to have a state issued license.
The change to the ordinance would involve Residential and Commercial Contractors in the field of Electrical, Construction. Managers, Public Contractors, HVAC, Builder, and Plumbing. The change would also involve Residential Removers and Residential Solar Contractors.
“It makes it an even playing field, the fees are the same,” said Evans. “This is what was sent by the state, nothing in here was added by us. It’s pretty much from the house bill.”
The fee for a one-year license from the city will be $50. Evans added that previous to this change, contractors would have to get a privilege license, but that would no longer be the case.
Alderman Michael Hillie remarked that this would probably eliminate the personal handyman, but Evans said there was room for the handyman to get by without needing a permit, saying that there is an amount based on the definition of remodelers being anything that exceeds $10,000.
Evans told the board that he wanted to let City Attorney Brian Mayo have an opportunity to look over the changes before bringing it the board for approval.
In other news from the meeting:
-Heard from Dan Norman, who started off by thanking the mayor and board for allowing him to be responsible for maintaining a one-half stretch of Rogers Street for 20 years and requested that if there is an opportunity for him to be eligible to own all of Rogers Street, to let him know. He followed up by asking for the status on a street sign for the street, with the answer being it was on order. Finally, he wanted to let the board know that he had a bag of garbage be stolen from the side of the street on Nov. 5. While he first saw it as a non-crime, he then thought it was possible that the person who took the bag of trash was looking for information that could lead to I.D. theft and wanted to let the public know just in case it happened to anyone else.
-City Manager Jay Powell reported to the board that the city had a great month financially in October.
-Approved to purchase 5 American Flags to be placed on Main Street during patriotic holidays for the amount of $987, which includes the flags, holders, and poles.
-Approved to close City Hall on Nov. 28-29 in observance of Thanksgiving. Also approved for City Hall to close on Nov. 27 at 1 p.m.
-Approved paying invoice #653030 to Mid-South Uniform & Supply, Inc. in the amount of $10,022.50 from the Fire Trust.
-Accepted the lowest bid of $483,475 from Four Seasons Enterprise, LLC for the 2023 CDBG Sanitary Sewer System Improvement Project.
-Approved paying application #1 to Gulf Services Contracting, Inc. in the amount of $6,155 (Accounting Services)
-Approved sending courtesy letters to the following residents: 1103 S. Main Street (unkept property), 628 New Ireland Road (unsafe structure), 309 W. Church Street (unsafe property, unkept property), 301 Miley Street (unkept property), 100 Kentwood Drive (unsafe property), 301 E. Tatum Street (unsafe structure, unkempt property), 316 E. Tatum Street (unsafe structure, unkempt property), 317 E. Tatum Street (unsafe structure, unkempt property), 205 Brown Avenue (unkempt property), 207 Brown Avenue (public nuisance).
-Approved amending the agenda to add setting a public hearing for properties.
-Approved setting a public hearing date of Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. for properties located at 208 4th Avenue, 320 East 6th Street, and the corner of 3rd Avenue and Bonnie J Street.
-Approved a water adjustment for Mark’s Auto Sales in the amount of $132.38, due to reading the wrong serial number on the water meter.
-Accepted a bid of $1,600 for a 2012 Tahoe that was put into surplus by the Police Department.
-Approved amending the Zoning Ordinance with changes to powers, procedures, and processes for the zoning board of adjustment. Changes include an update to the notice of the applicant and zoning board of adjustment, procedures for public hearing, board duties, and applications and requirements for variance and rezoning. The adopted ordinance goes into effect on Dec. 14, 2024.
-Approved amending the Planning Commission Ordinance with changes to powers, procedures, and process for the planning commission. Changes include an update to the notice of applicant and planning commission, procedures for public hearing, commission duties, applications and requirements for zoning, and term limitations. The adopted ordinance goes into effect on Dec. 14, 2024.
-Approved adopting the Security Vulnerability Self-Assessment Record of Security Vulnerability Completion for the city’s water system, as required by the state, adopted Nov. 1, 2024.
-Approved adopting the Public Water Systems Emergency Contingency Plan, adopted Nov. 19, 20204.
-Evans said that after an initial meeting with the Mississippi State Extension Office about water and sewage rates, the recommendation was for water and sewage rates to increase every 3-4 years so they will pay for themselves.
