“I feel like, personally that people who resides in the city of Laurel and have to deal with the issues facing the citizens of Laurel seem to have a better grasp on things,” Magee added. “If you don’t live in the house with me, you don’t know what I’m going through.”

Mayor Melvin Mack said Tuesday that he should have been informed about this order prior to it coming up in the agenda-setting meeting last week.

Mack asked council members if this was the beginning of more changes.

Council president George Carmichael said he supported the order requiring the CAO to be a city resident because of citizens’ concerns.

“The CAO is a little bit above the department heads,” Carmichael explained. “It’s not a personal thing. It’s something the citizens wanted done. ... It’s not about me. ... It’s about the citizens of Laurel.”

Residents at the meeting voiced their opinions.

Laurel residents Barbara Page, Maggie Williams, Dennis Keveryn and Thaddeus Edmonson spoke about their concerns about the order and the manner in which city officials were handling this issue.

“We don’t have anything against Mr. Suddith. ... It’s not a personal thing,” Page said. “Everybody is not stupid. We have some qualified people in the City of Laurel.”

Page said the CAO of the city should want to live in Laurel.

“If it’s too bad for you to live in here with us, it’s too bad for you to work here and make our money,” Page said. “If you want to be the CAO then you should be willing to live in the city.”

Council members said now was a good time to implement the requirement.

“In order for Laurel to get better we are going to have to fix it from the inside,” Carmichael said. “We are trying to do the very best thing for the city.”

Councilperson Willie Evans agreed that “it is a good time to look at this and make a decision.”

According to officials, the City of Jackson does require its employees to live within the city limits. However, the city gives the employee six months to relocate to the city.