JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Jackson’s Public Works Department will soon be without a city engineer.
City Engineer Robert Lee has submitted his resignation, effective April 19, to take a position elsewhere.
Lee, who has been with Jackson for nearly 20 …
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Jackson’s Public Works Department will soon be without a city engineer.
City Engineer Robert Lee has submitted his resignation, effective April 19, to take a position elsewhere.
Lee, who has been with Jackson for nearly 20 years, is the only engineer in Public Works and takes with him years of institutional knowledge.
“This is another challenge for the mayor to have to respond to,” Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay said. “We certainly need an engineer to keep the projects moving forward in the city.”
Lindsay, who also worked with Lee during her time as executive director of the Greater Belhaven Foundation, says she’s worried the vacancy will slow work on several projects underway or about to be underway, adding that the council recently approved issuing $40 million in bonds for infrastructure work.
“It’s very difficult to keep projects moving forward without a city engineer.”
How quickly the city can fill the position is unclear. Jackson has had an opening for a senior civil engineer since February 2022.
The position pays between $52,620 to $63,632.82 a year, essentially the same as an engineer-in-training position with the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
Jackson currently has 14 open positions in Public Works, including two traffic signal technicians, a senior electrician, two equipment operators, a heavy equipment operator, and an HVAC technician.
Lee’s career has included time as traffic engineer and city engineer. He briefly served as director of public works in 2023.
He held that position for several months, until the city brought on Khalid Woods. Woods resigned twice in a matter of weeks.
Lee joins the long line of public works officials who have stepped down in recent years.
Since 2020, Jackson has had seven public works directors, including Marlin King, Charles Williams, Robert Miller, Jordan Hillman (acting), Lee, and Wood. Today the department is helmed by the city’s chief administrative officer, Louis Wright..
