Meridian voters cast their ballots Tuesday to select a new mayor and five City Council members, who will be tasked with leading the city forward over the next four years.

 

Former Mayor Percy Bland will return to the mayor’s office having narrowly defeated businessman Jimmy Copeland by a small, but unlikely to change, majority vote. His experience leading the city previously for two terms will be called upon early as the city also welcomes three new members to the City Council.

 

Beginning July 1, Elliot Brewer, Tracy Tims and Dustin Hill will take over as Ward 1, Ward 3 and Ward 5 councilmen, respectively. They, along with Bland and returning council members, Dwayne Davis (Ward 2) and Romande Walker (Ward 4), will face a long list of things to do with little time to do them.

 

First on the list will be confirming Bland’s appointments to lead the city government’s various departments. The mayor is responsible for appointing leaders for the Meridian Police Department, Meridian Fire Department, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Community Development, Public Safety, Finance and Records, along with a Chief Administrative Officer who will help manage the day-to-day city functions, and a Chief Financial Officer to help the city stay on budget. Those appointments must be confirmed by the City Council before assuming their duties.

 

Assuming the appointments go smoothly, the next big undertaking will be creating a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Meridian’s annual budgets run from October 1 to September 30, leaving the new administration and council with less than 90 days to decide how much money it will take to keep the city running for the next 12 months.

 

An arduous task under any circumstances, crafting the budget will be a trial-by-fire moment for those new to city government.

 

Our incoming officials are not the first to take on such a challenge, and the lack of societal breakdown points to past elected officials finding success in their own efforts. This administration, however, will have another momentous task waiting for it that preceding city leaders did not have to worry about: the next consent decree bond.

 

Lack of preventative maintenance and investment in the city’s wastewater infrastructure led Meridian in 2019 to sign onto a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency for chronic sewer overflows that were contaminating nearby Sowashee Creek. The decree is a 20-year plan to examine, upgrade and repair the city’s sewers, wastewater plants and pump stations to eliminate those overflows.

 

In 2020, the Meridian City Council issued a $42 million bond to fund the initial consent decree work and implemented 9% annual raises to residents’ water bills through 2026 to pay the debt. That money has been used up and the next city council will need to begin the process of borrowing another $40 million or more to keep the city in line with the repair schedule.

 

The winning candidates from Tuesday’s elections have a few more weeks before they take office and we encourage them to enjoy it while they can. Once sworn in, they will have a lot to do and very little time.