Nominees for Jonesboro’s Unity Committee named; city collector retires

An 11-member panel will be presented to the Jonesboro City Council for approval to serve as the City’s Unity Coalition Advisory Committee, as selected by Mayor Harold Perrin.

The proposal will be made Tuesday (July 16) at the Council’s Rules and Nominating Committee meeting. If approved, it will be forwarded to the full council meeting at 5:30 p.m. The committee was created at the mandate of the council at its June 18 meeting to “bring back a recommendation on before Sept. 17 … on a solution to the situation of Jonesboro not having a street named after Martin Luther King Jr.”

The nominees are Emma Agnew, John A. Beineke, Judy Casteel, Charles Coleman, Sandra Combs, Jeffrey Gibson, Jeff Mead, Lisa Melton, Chris Moss, Adrian Rogers and Garry Tate. Perrin also recommends that Coleman, a city council member, chair the committee.

The nominees were chosen from a field of 32 applicants and Perrin said initial plans to limit the committee to nine members produced an inadequate representation of the community. The nominees range from Arkansas State University employees to business community members to a variety of neighborhood leaders, Perrin said.

“We had some highly qualified applicants, and to create a truly representative cross-section of the community, it became clear to me that we needed at least two more members,” Perrin said. “That said, a lot of good people were left off – not because they weren’t qualified but because we needed a balance of everything from personal background to where candidates live. If you were not chosen, I hope you will apply to participate in city government again in the future.”

If the council approves the mayor’s nominees, the committee’s first meeting will be July 24 in the first-floor conference room of the Municipal Center.

In other city business, Becky Sharp, who has served as City Collector for the past 38 years, has retired as the longest tenured Municipal Center employee at the end of the week. Her assistant, Tosha Moss, has been chosen to take over the position and will begin in the role Monday (July 15).

Sharp started her career with the city in 1981, when Jonesboro’s population was 31,530. Today, as Jonesboro exceeds 77,000. She recalls having to be her own tutor as a matter of routine.

“You just keep changing with the job,” she said. “You move on from outdated procedures and learn the news ones.”

Perrin said Sharp did her job with courtesy and professionalism, “and I don’t know if the job today looks much like what it was when she started. But we will truly miss Becky. And I’m really glad that we have such a first-class employee as Tosha Moss to replace her from within.”

Sharp said she enjoyed her years in civil service but will enjoy her retirement, as well. Moss, who has worked with the city for more than six years, has served as Sharp’s assistant since 2015.

“I am proud of our city of Jonesboro family, and especially my time learning from Becky,” Moss said. “The work of this department has grown as the city has grown, and it takes a lot to manage all we handle. Becky was a wonderful leader, and I can only hope to fill her shoes adequately.”