Alan Howe approved as Hattiesburg's water and sewer director

Hattiesburg City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve Alan Howe as the city's water and sewer director.

Howe's salary will be $75,000.

"His interview was fantastic," Council President Carter Carroll said. 

Although she approved Howe's nomination, Ward 2 Councilwoman Deborah Delgado questioned Howe's residency.

Mayor Toby Barker assured her Howe and his wife are looking for a home in Hattiesburg and plan to move soon. 

Earlier Tuesday, Barker announced Howe was his nominee for the post. 

Howe serves in a similar capacity as director of operations with the Pearl River County Utility Authority. His first day with Hattiesburg will be Feb. 5. 

More:Ronnie Perkins named Hattiesburg's Parks and Recreation director

Howe currently supervises water and sewer operations for Pearl River County, ensures compliance with state and federal regulations and oversees infrastructure upgrades. 

He has more than 20 years of leadership experience in plant operations, including plant manager at Quikrete and general manager at Kimball International Manufacturing.

"As we had our conversations over the course of a couple interviews, we took (Howe) around to a couple places we have in our city," Barker said. "As he met with each individual council member, the conversation always came back to how do we properly train and empower our employees to take on these jobs themselves.

"I cannot stress enough how much of a win this is for our city."

More:Hattiesburg council affirms Anthony Parker as city's police chief

Howe is an alumnus of the University of Southern Mississippi and Northeast Mississippi Junior College and a certified industrial wastewater treatment operator.

He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children.

“I’m excited to join the city of Hattiesburg in this capacity,” Howe said in a news release. “My career lends itself to many of the systems that are already in place for water and sewer, but it also creates opportunity for customer service delivery in a way that matches Mayor Barker’s vision for Hattiesburg."

Howe is the ninth appointment to Barker’s administrative team, following Ronnie Perkins as parks and recreation director, Lamar Rutland as city engineer, Anthony Parker as police chief, Wes Curry as municipal court judge, Andrew Ellard as director of urban development, Randy Pope as city attorney, Kermas Eaton as city clerk, and Ann Jones as chief administrative officer.

Public Works director Larry Barnes and Fire Chief Paul Presley resigned in late December. Colton Hill was appointed interim general manager for public works, and Stephen Mooney is serving as interim fire chief.