
Photo by Monroe Roark
During the August 14 Kenneth City Town Council meeting, officials shared updates about the ongoing town manager hiring process, Kenneth City’s 2024 budgets, and discussed a possible electoral change.
The Hunt for a New Town Manager
Recently, Vice-mayor Bonnie Noble said she met with a couple of the candidates.
Zemaitis said she values input from the staff since they will work with the manager on a daily basis.
“We do want to fix the environment that we’ve had previously,” Zemaitis stated.
Deputy Clerk Kristin Cook added that WolfCreek, the firm hired for this task, will provide an update by Aug. 27, along with more candidates.
That’s not all that happened at the August 14 Kenneth City Town Council meeting. Read about pickleball and Tropical Storm Debby in Kenneth City.
Kenneth City Budgets
Susan Roberts, from the finance department, said the Town’s financial department submitted the fiscal audit for 2022.
Now, officials have to submit the 2023 audit, which was due on June 30. Roberts said she is in touch with the State and working diligently to deliver the final numbers for the report.
The Town held a budget workshop before the August 14 Kenneth City Town Council meeting.
Possible Changes
Council member Tony Chan asked about changing the term limit of the council members from two to four years, with staggered elections. Town Attorney Ralf Brookes explained that the process would involve a charter change, which requires a public vote.
“The easiest thing to change is resolutions like fees and schedules,” said Brookes. “Ordinances take two readings and then charters take two votes of the council, plus the referendum of the vote.”
Brookes said he would inquire about due process with the election supervisor to see if this change could happen before the November election.
We’re the calm during the storm. No hype, only help!
Bookmark The Gabber Newspaper’s storm coverage page for quick access to relevant tropical storm updates. No hype, no guessing, just updates on shelters, sandbags, and closures. And sign up for text alerts to get real-time guidance and prep advice when there’s a named storm heading our way. Also, check out our downtown Gulfport and beach web cams.


