Biloxi works to speed infrastructure project

The mayor and the city council are considering several things to help speed up the process, including  severing ties with HNTB construction group after their contract ends in February. The city is also considering the creation of an engineering department, composed of staff from the public works department to oversee the project in-house. By no longer outsourcing the project, city leaders believe they could nearly cut the monthly costs in half — leaving a little extra wiggle room in the dwindling FEMA funds.

“They’ll be able to concentrate on the professional set of the engineering, especially the management of the huge FEMA grants, the infrastructure grants so we can get them going faster and more efficiently," says Gerald Blessey, Biloxi City Attorney.

The city also is in discussion about hiring a certified public accountant to serve as a chief financial officer who will help streamline the process and make sure everything is being done correctly by FEMA’s guidelines.

Council members are set to vote on these issues at their next meeting.