A proposal for three new city positions was advanced during Thursday’s Pine Bluff administration committee meeting. The proposed roles include a community service liaison and a communications manager within the mayor’s office, as well as a revitalization and land bank director within the Economic and Community Development Department.
Pine Bluff Mayor Vivian Flowers detailed the critical need for both roles in the mayor’s office, emphasizing that the goal is to ultimately achieve a net-zero effect on the budget by eliminating or recalibrating other positions, despite anticipating an additional $1 million in revenues from Saracen Casino.
The proposed community service liaison position is intended to be a dedicated resource for constituency services. According to Flowers, the primary role would be to assist citizens who call in, using technology to document requests, calls, letters and resolutions to ensure accountability.
“We just think that having someone who works during the day when people call and are trying to look for assistance. … We’ll be able to have someone on deck to help the people and close out cases in a system,” said Flowers.
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According to the resolution, the community services liaison will serve as a bridge between the city’s leadership and its residents, ensuring that community voices are heard and city initiatives are effectively communicated.
The job description outlines a wide range of duties, including providing information and outreach on city policies and legislation to the public, acting as a contact person for community members and council representatives and conducting needs assessments to identify community challenges and priorities.
The liason will also assist in analyzing and developing policies, preparing research and summaries for council members, and overseeing the nomination process for boards and commissions.
A central part of the rationale also addressed the burden on elected officials who are paid part-time. The annual salary for the position is set at $42,724, with wages and benefits included in the Executive Budget starting in 2026.
“The council members, you’re paying part-time, and if you’re expected to do work full-time… having this full-time position will enable you to operate in more of a full-time capacity,” said Flowers. “I would rather give up my cell phone and laptop and just use a computer on my desk than have the city not perform optimally for the people in terms of the services we provide.”
The need for a dedicated communications manager was framed as an essential step to move the city forward. Flowers described the current lack of a formal communications strategy as a “tragedy” for a city of its size.
“We have to have a professional in place to manage our worries, our messaging, our information and how would you respond to FOIA,” she said.
The newly created role will be responsible for developing and executing strategic communication plans that align with the city’s goals. The communications manager will oversee public relations efforts, manage media inquiries, draft press releases, coordinate interviews with city officials and maintain positive relationships with local media outlets.
Additionally, the position will involve managing the city’s website and social media presence, ensuring consistent branding and timely updates.
The annual salary for the communications manager has been set at $50,750, with wages and benefits to be included in the Executive Budget starting in 2026 and subsequent years. The job description emphasizes the importance of protecting and promoting the city’s brand identity, developing crisis communication plans and monitoring media coverage to gauge the effectiveness of campaigns.
“The fact that we are a first-class city with over 37,000 people and we don’t have one person whose job it is to manage the communications of a city of over 300 people is a tragedy,” she said.
It was argued that the new role would allow the city to “recalibrate and upgrade our website” and ensure messaging, successes and explanations are clear and are disseminated appropriately.
A third position discussed focused on restructuring a position related to the unfunded Urban Renewal Agency. The proposal is to create a position and move its responsibilities into the Economic and Community Development Department to manage key city properties and development projects.
According to the resolution, the newly established role, titled “Revitalization and Land Bank Director,” is set to take effect on January 1, 2026, and will play a pivotal role in managing urban renewal projects and overseeing the city’s anticipated Land Bank Program.
The decision comes as part of the council’s broader plan to dissolve the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency by Dec. 31, 2025. The agency’s responsibilities, including the transfer of all real and personal property, contracts and invoices, will be absorbed by the Economic and Community Development Department. The new position is designed to ensure a seamless transition and provide the necessary leadership to manage these expanded duties.
The revitalization and land bank director will be tasked with managing and completing all outstanding urban renewal projects while ensuring compliance with relevant laws, contracts and funding requirements. The role also includes serving as the general manager for Simmons Bank Park, coordinating redevelopment initiatives with city departments, developers and community organizations, and assisting in the establishment of the city’s Land Bank Program. This program will focus on drafting policies, procedures and acquisitions to support land reuse and revitalization efforts.
Additionally, the director will seek and administer grants, funding opportunities and partnerships to further the city’s redevelopment goals. Representing the city at public meetings, community workshops and interagency collaborations will also be a key aspect of the position.
The discussion regarding the Urban Renewal Agency and the person currently managing its duties centered on financial necessity, a lack of funding for the agency and the city’s need to maintain critical property management.
According to Flowers, the Urban Renewal Agency is no longer generating revenue, making its current operating budget of $175,000 unsustainable.
“If you look at the budget that was submitted, it’s a significant, it’s illegal classic. The person currently in the position, Chandra Griffin, executive director of urban renewal, and “the person who is currently employed,” has been performing necessary duties for the Sixth and Main Facility with two vacant, unfunded management positions.
“Right now, there is no salary. After this year, for the position that’s at urban renewal, so what I’m saying is without dissolving it… There’s no more money to pay,” said Flowers.
The plan is to relocate the position and its duties into the Economic and Community Development department, scaling down the cost to save the city money while keeping the essential duties:
“The idea is to take a position without taking on the burden or the other liability. So take a $175,000 budget and scale it down to adjust the position, put it in economic development and now the role of this position is to manage Simmons Bank Park,” said Flowers. “We fund urban renewal at $175,000, or we fund this position and put it in an entity where it makes sense to put it.”
Flowers stressed the need to have a person in this role by January 1 to manage the city’s key assets, particularly Simmons Bank Park, a $4 million city investment.
“To not do anything about this when we need this person in this position to continue to manage Simmons Bank Park. On January 1, there is no money to support the position in the commission that is no longer funded,” said Flowers.
The continued management of the facility is required by an MOU with Simmons.
“If the city of Pine Bluff does not maintain the operations of Simmons Bank Park for the purposes that it was intended, they can take it back and let somebody else manage it,” said Flowers. “The facility currently has no dedicated, funded manager, with the existing Urban Renewal Executive Director having to manage it alone.”
The new position’s responsibilities would centralize the management of these critical assets:
Simmons Bank Park: Managing the facility’s operations, including scheduling special events, collecting rent from vendors, ensuring cleanliness and paying bills.
Go-Kart Track: Working with economic development to complete the construction of the go-kart track. The budget for operations of the go-kart track is noted to be $331,000.
Land Bank: Creating and staffing the city’s land bank.
This move, by consolidating duties, is projected to save over half of the Urban Renewal budget and cut over $100,000 out of the $300,000 Simmons Bank Park operations budget.
A question was raised regarding the longevity of the funding for the new positions. “This is strictly from Saracen Casino revenues, which we believe have increased largely due to the increase in online app betting,” said Flowers.
Despite the discussion, all resolutions were moved forward with committee approval to send them to the full council for consideration.