Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Open Government Website Permits topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents complain website, permit delays and illegal political signs; IT offers temporary links
Summary
Public commenters told the council the city website lacks current council schedules, agendas and minutes and cited a restaurant blocked from completing restrooms while waiting for permits. City IT said data migration from an old vendor caused delays and provided temporary links.
Several residents told the Jackson City Council on Jan. 28 that the city website lacks current agendas, meeting minutes and the 2025 council schedule, and that the gaps impede public participation.
Zach Seravis, speaking during public comment, said a business on East County Line, Samboo’s African Kitchen, lacks usable restrooms while waiting for a permit for an excavation to repair plumbing. He asked the city to expedite permit processing so the business’s customers have access to restrooms.
Seravis also said the council’s online calendar and the council meeting agenda and minutes pages were not updated; he urged the administration to post schedules and agendas on social media until the website is fixed. He cited enforcement language in the city code related to political signage and urged enforcement of prohibitions on posting signs on trees, utility poles and rights-of-way; he read portions of Chapter 6 and Chapter 102 of the city code describing penalties and exemptions.
Miriam Reed, director of the Department of Information Technology, told the council the city migrated from a vendor that had hosted the data for eight or nine years. The vendor did not return data in a readily usable format; the city has recovered the data but is using temporary links while staff remap the content. Reed gave the temporary link www.jacksonms.gov/councildashagendasandminutes and said staff can e‑mail agendas and materials to residents on request while the website mapping is completed.
Council members asked for a timeline. Reed said she was working to have a visible link or a corrected interface by the end of the week and that staff are exploring outsourcing coding help if needed.
On the political signage issue, commenter Zach Seravis quoted the city code’s ban on placing posters on trees or utility poles and noted candidate signage must be at least 10 feet from the public right-of-way and may not exceed 12 square feet; the code requires removal of signs within 15 days after an election and permits a 72‑hour notice for removal when signs are located in the right-of-way.
Ending: City staff said temporary links and emailed copies of agendas will remain available while the website is remapped; the municipal clerk and IT staff said they will provide a timeline and deliver links to council offices for constituent outreach.
