Jackson hires office manager and maintenance staff; police report shows staffing strain

The Town of Jackson Board of Trustees on June 13 approved several personnel actions and heard reports on public safety and code enforcement. Trustee William Free moved to hire Annissa Woodard as the town office manager and increase her pay by $2.40 per hour effective June 1, 2022; Trustee Rafe Stewart seconded and the motion passed.

Maintenance supervisor Matt Leggett requested additional staff. On motions by Trustee Rafe Stewart (seconded by Trustees David Guillory and Don Havard), the board voted to advertise for two full-time maintenance positions at a base rate of $13.00 per hour, approved increasing Alan Hensley's pay from $12.00 to $13.00 per hour, and hired part-time worker Kaleb Surton at $12.00 per hour. The minutes report these motions passed.

Police Chief/Marshall Fred Allen reported 17 tickets issued and seven arrests during the month; he said the department has two full-time officers and is using parish officers to cover some shifts, and expressed a need for additional personnel. Officer Quiet submitted a written code-enforcement report and requested creation of a "Dog Committee"; he also noted 21 letters of notification regarding blighted properties will be issued.

Jim Parker, president of the Council on Aging, informed the board that the Old VFW Hall will serve as the new meal site, with weekday meals targeted to start by Labor Day between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Why it matters: the hires and wage changes address immediate staffing and operations needs for town services; the police report indicates limited department capacity which may affect response times; code enforcement actions on blight were also initiated.

What’s next: the administration will advertise the maintenance positions and implement the approved hires and wage changes; the board did not record specific timelines for police hiring or the code-enforcement dog committee.