By Jason C. Mattox

A newly-adopted City of Batesville ordinance will require city department heads to reside within Panola County.

Alderman voted unanimously on July 7 to adopt the ordinance, which becomes effective August 7.

“All of the superintendents are on call, and the board felt like superintendents needed to live close enough so they could make a quick response if there were problems,” Mayor Jerry Autrey said.

Autrey acknowledged that only one department head, civic center director Roy Hyde, is not currently living in the county.

Hyde maintains his residence in Memphis and has done so since being hired in 2005. 

Hyde was expected to move closer, to Tate County, when he was hired. 

“This isn’t meant to focus on Roy,” Autrey said.

“The issue came up when Rickey Shirey told us he was retiring, and the city was discussing what to do about the vacancy,” the mayor said.

Autrey said the board’s concern was possibly hiring a superintendent from outside the city.

“When the board first discussed the matter, I called Roy and told him we were discussing it,” he said. “As far as the Civic Center goes, we felt like it would help with the recruitment and retention of sponsors if the person was local.”

The ordinance allows a one-year period after its effective date for department heads to complete the move.

“We wanted to make sure that we gave them enough time to move,” Autrey said.

When reached for comment, Hyde offered only, “No comment.”