Aug. 11—TUPELO — In the wake of two employees leaving City Hall over ethical concerns, Tupelo is anticipated to enter into a contract with an outside consulting firm within the next few weeks to examine the Development Services Department.
Tanner Newman, director of Development Services, told members of the Tupelo City Council at a budget hearing on Tuesday that he's asking them to approve money in the department's budget to fund the review of the department's operations.
"In light of recent vacancies, it's a good time to take a thorough review of the department and the services we offer," Newman told the Daily Journal.
Development Services is responsible for things involving zoning, building permits and building inspections. Any contract will ultimately have to be approved by the city council, but the announcement of an outside review of the department is a significant step in Mayor Todd Jordan's administration.
The Daily Journal previously reported that Jimmy Farnham, the city's chief building inspector, and Donna Jarrell, the city's redevelopment coordinator, resigned from their positions with the city after members of Jordan's administration raised ethical concerns in July.
Newman said that the potential consulting firm would not conduct any investigations into employee conduct, and it would only be focused on examining the swath of services that the department offers.
"Before we make any new hires, we want to make sure the work we're producing is efficient," Newman said.
It's not immediately known which consulting firm will review the department, but $30,000 is currently set aside for the outside firm in the department's proposed budget.
Development Services, commonly referred to as "the third floor," is an area Jordan is making a main focus of his term so far. Newman is Jordan's former campaign manager and a close ally of the first-term mayor.
For a long time, the Development Services Department has handled code enforcement, or the regulation of building standards, largely through a complaint process. Newman has told Council members in recent meetings that he is wanting to transition the Development Services away from being complaint-driven to using more of a proactive approach to its code enforcement.
The contract is expected to come before the Council in the next few weeks.