The newly appointed Meridian Civil Service Commission will have its first meeting on Tuesday.

All five previous commission members were replaced last month, with five new members being appointed by Mayor Cheri Barry. The previous members were appointed by previous administrations and were serving on expired terms.

According to Civil Service Secretary Gloria Kirby, the new commissioners were trained by Judge Lawrence Primeaux on Wednesday. She said it is the first time a commission has been trained as a body by one of the authors of the commission’s current rules and regulations.

Kirby said commissioners were trained on civil service as a concept and civil service as it has existed in Mississippi. They were also given thorough training on the current civil service code, she said.

The agenda for the meeting includes the election of new officers, a request to reschedule the appeal of termination for an employee, a request from Homeland Security Director Tim Miller, a request from Fire Chief Anthony Clayton, certification of a list of eligible candidates for the position of risk manager, and certification of a list of eligible candidates for the position of K-9 trainer.

Miller said the K-9 trainer position, which is a new position, is already being filled on a temporary basis by MPD officer Rod Brown, but the commission must certify the list of eligible candidates before the position can be made permanent.

Miller and Kirby said the K-9 trainer is employed by the police department but housed by the homeland security department. Meridian Chief Administrative Officer Mark McDonald said the city anticipates that the K-9 trainer position will pay for itself by hiring out the trainer’s services to other agencies.

McDonald said the risk manager position was vacated when the previous risk manager left for another job.

The risk manager’s responsibilities, he said, are to ensure that job sites are safe in order to reduce the possibility of insurance claims being made against the city and to asses the validity of claims when they are made.

The position was previously left unfilled to allow for the salary of a new position, executive advisor to the mayor, held by Kirk Thompson. McDonald said the administration later realized that the risk manager position was necessary, and was able to fill the budget gap through other vacancies on the city’s billet.

The first meeting of the new commission will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the police department courtroom on Sixth Street. The commission meets on the second Tuesday of every month.