New board prepares to be sworn in

Published 10:04 am Friday, June 30, 2017

The president of the National Baptist Convention, Miss Mississippi and the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives will be among the participants at Sunday’s inauguration for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen at the Vicksburg Auditorium on Monroe Street.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr., North Ward Aldermen Michael Mayfield and South Ward Alderman-elect Alex Monsour will be sworn in as the new board during the ceremony, which begins at 6 p.m. Flaggs will be sworn in by Community Judge Mack Varner, while Municipal Judge Pro Tem Josie M. Hudson will swear in Mayfield. Speaker Philip Gunn will swear in Monsour.

Flaggs will be starting his second term as mayor, while Mayfield begins his fourth as North Ward Alderman. Monsour, a state representative, begins his first.

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Miss Mississippi Anne Elizabeth Buys will give a welcoming address during the ceremony, and the Rev. Dr. Jerry Young, president of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc., will deliver special remarks after the officials are sworn-in.

The pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, Young is the 18th president of the National Baptist Convention.

He is a native of Scott, and is the founder and headmaster of New Hope Christian Pre-School and New Hope Christian Elementary School.

He serves on the Board of Trustees at Belhaven College in Jackson and Rust College in Holly Springs. He is the immediate past president of the General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi.

The new Board of Mayor and Aldermen was elected June 6. Each member serves a four-year term and will oversee one or more city departments under recently approved amendments to the city’s charter.

The salaries of the mayor and aldermen are set by ordinance, with the mayor receiving $93,450 per year; the aldermen each earn $74,550. Their salaries will increase by 5 percent July 1, 2018.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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