   2 Highlands Historic District — roughly bounded by 15th St , 34th Ave , 19th St , and 36th Ave .   3 Meridian Downtown Historic District — runs from the former Gulf , Mobile and Ohio Railroad north to 6th St between 18th and 26th Ave , excluding Ragsdale Survey Block 71 .   4 Meridian Urban Center Historic District — roughly bounded by 21st and 25th Aves , 6th St , and the railroad .   5 Union Station Historic District — roughly bounded by 18th and 19th Aves , 5th St , and the railroad .   6 Merrehope Historic District — roughly bounded by 33rd Ave , 30th Ave , 14th St , and 8th St.   7 Mid @-@ Town Historic District — roughly bounded by 23rd Ave , 15th St , 28th Ave , and 22nd St.   8 Poplar Springs Road Historic District — roughly bounded by 29th St , 23rd Ave , 22nd St , and 29th Ave .   9 West End Historic District — roughly bounded by 7th St , 28th Ave , Shearer 's Branch , and 5th St.   = = Government and infrastructure = =   Meridian has operated under the mayor @-@ council or " strong mayor " form of government since 1985 . A mayor is elected every four years by the population at @-@ large . The five members of the city council are elected every four years from each of the city 's five wards , considered single @-@ member districts . The mayor , the chief executive officer of the city , is responsible for administering and leading the day @-@ to @-@ day operations of city government . The city council is the legislative arm of the government , setting policy and annually adopting the city 's operating budget .   City Hall , which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places , is located at 601 23rd Avenue . The current mayor is Percy Bland . Members of the city council include Dr. George M. Thomas , representative from Ward 1 , Kenneth Dustin Markham , representative from Ward 2 , Barbara Henson , representative from Ward 3 , Kim Houston , representative from Ward 4 , and Randy Hammon , representative from Ward 5 . The council clerk is Pam McInnis . In total , the city employs 570 people .   The city established a Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 , becoming the only local DHS in the state . The team oversees an area of nine counties . Upon receiving $ 2 @.@ 5 million in grants from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and other organizations , the department began training law enforcement offices from other Southern states in passenger rail rescue as well as offering civilian classes in basic handguns , Boy Scout first aid and hunting , and firearms training . The DHS helps during times of crisis such as Hurricane Ivan in September 2005 , when the department helped establish and support shelters for 700 evacuees . The city now serves as the leader of one of the task forces in the Mississippi DHS , a combination of three nine @-@ county teams .   Headed by police chief Lee Shelbourn since 2009 , the Meridian Police Department consists of 115 full @-@ time officers as well as part @-@ time and reserve staff available . In 2009 , the department 's Criminal Investigations Division responded to 4000 cases , 2000 of which were felonies . In 2000 , 2094 crimes were reported , up slightly from 2008 crimes the preceding year . Meridian has been described as " the safest city in Mississippi with more than 30 @,@ 000 people . " The East Mississippi Correctional Facility is located in unincorporated Lauderdale County , near Meridian . It is operated by the GEO Group on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Corrections . The chief of the Meridian Fire Department is Anthony Clayton . The fire department responded to more than 1600 calls in 2009 , including 123 structural fires and 609 emergency service calls .   The Mississippi Department of Mental Health operates the East Mississippi State Hospital in Meridian .   The United States Postal Service operates the Meridian , North Meridian , and the West Meridian Station post offices .   In state politics , the Mississippi Senate district map divides the city into three sections . The northern tip of the city is in the 31st State Senate District and seats Terry Clark Burton ( R ) . A strip of the city from the southwest corner up to the northeast corner comprises part of the 32nd State Senate District and seats Sampson Jackson , II ( D ) . The western and southeastern portions of the city lie in the 33rd State Senate District and seats Videt Carmichael ( R ) . In the Mississippi House of Representatives districts , the city is divided into four districts . The southern and eastern portions of the city reside in House District 81 and are represented by Steven A. Horne ( R ) . The city 's core makes up the entirety of House District 82 and is represented by Wilbert L. Jones ( D ) . Surrounding House District 82 is House District 83 , represented by
Ġ Ġ Ġ2 ĠHighlands ĠHistoric ĠDistrict ĠâĢĶ Ġroughly Ġbounded Ġby Ġ15 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġ34 th ĠAve Ġ, Ġ19 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġand Ġ36 th ĠAve Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ3 ĠMeridian ĠDowntown ĠHistoric ĠDistrict ĠâĢĶ Ġruns Ġfrom Ġthe Ġformer ĠGulf Ġ, ĠMobile Ġand ĠOhio ĠRailroad Ġnorth Ġto Ġ6 th ĠSt Ġbetween Ġ18 th Ġand Ġ26 th ĠAve Ġ, Ġexcluding ĠR ags dale ĠSurvey ĠBlock Ġ71 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ4 ĠMeridian ĠUrban ĠCenter ĠHistoric ĠDistrict ĠâĢĶ Ġroughly Ġbounded Ġby Ġ21 st Ġand Ġ25 th ĠA ves Ġ, Ġ6 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġrailroad Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ5 ĠUnion ĠStation ĠHistoric ĠDistrict ĠâĢĶ Ġroughly Ġbounded Ġby Ġ18 th Ġand Ġ19 th ĠA ves Ġ, Ġ5 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġrailroad Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ6 ĠMer re h ope ĠHistoric ĠDistrict ĠâĢĶ Ġroughly Ġbounded Ġby Ġ33 rd ĠAve Ġ, Ġ30 th ĠAve Ġ, Ġ14 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġand Ġ8 th ĠSt . Ġ Ġ Ġ7 ĠMid Ġ@ - @ ĠTown ĠHistoric ĠDistrict ĠâĢĶ Ġroughly Ġbounded Ġby Ġ23 rd ĠAve Ġ, Ġ15 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġ28 th ĠAve Ġ, Ġand Ġ22 nd ĠSt . Ġ Ġ Ġ8 ĠPop lar ĠSprings ĠRoad ĠHistoric ĠDistrict ĠâĢĶ Ġroughly Ġbounded Ġby Ġ29 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġ23 rd ĠAve Ġ, Ġ22 nd ĠSt Ġ, Ġand Ġ29 th ĠAve Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ9 ĠWest ĠEnd ĠHistoric ĠDistrict ĠâĢĶ Ġroughly Ġbounded Ġby Ġ7 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġ28 th ĠAve Ġ, ĠShe arer Ġ' s ĠBranch Ġ, Ġand Ġ5 th ĠSt . Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠGovernment Ġand Ġinfrastructure Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMeridian Ġhas Ġoperated Ġunder Ġthe Ġmayor Ġ@ - @ Ġcouncil Ġor Ġ" Ġstrong Ġmayor Ġ" Ġform Ġof Ġgovernment Ġsince Ġ1985 Ġ. ĠA Ġmayor Ġis Ġelected Ġevery Ġfour Ġyears Ġby Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġat Ġ@ - @ Ġlarge Ġ. ĠThe Ġfive Ġmembers Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġcouncil Ġare Ġelected Ġevery Ġfour Ġyears Ġfrom Ġeach Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġfive Ġwards Ġ, Ġconsidered Ġsingle Ġ@ - @ Ġmember Ġdistricts Ġ. ĠThe Ġmayor Ġ, Ġthe Ġchief Ġexecutive Ġofficer Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġis Ġresponsible Ġfor Ġadministering Ġand Ġleading Ġthe Ġday Ġ@ - @ Ġto Ġ@ - @ Ġday Ġoperations Ġof Ġcity Ġgovernment Ġ. ĠThe Ġcity Ġcouncil Ġis Ġthe Ġlegislative Ġarm Ġof Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġ, Ġsetting Ġpolicy Ġand Ġannually Ġadopting Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġoperating Ġbudget Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠCity ĠHall Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhas Ġbeen Ġlisted Ġon Ġthe ĠNational ĠRegister Ġof ĠHistoric ĠPlaces Ġ, Ġis Ġlocated Ġat Ġ601 Ġ23 rd ĠAvenue Ġ. ĠThe Ġcurrent Ġmayor Ġis ĠPercy ĠBland Ġ. ĠMembers Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġcouncil Ġinclude ĠDr . ĠGeorge ĠM . ĠThomas Ġ, Ġrepresentative Ġfrom ĠWard Ġ1 Ġ, ĠKenneth ĠDustin ĠMark ham Ġ, Ġrepresentative Ġfrom ĠWard Ġ2 Ġ, ĠBarbara ĠH enson Ġ, Ġrepresentative Ġfrom ĠWard Ġ3 Ġ, ĠKim ĠHouston Ġ, Ġrepresentative Ġfrom ĠWard Ġ4 Ġ, Ġand ĠRandy ĠHam mon Ġ, Ġrepresentative Ġfrom ĠWard Ġ5 Ġ. ĠThe Ġcouncil Ġclerk Ġis ĠPam ĠMc In nis Ġ. ĠIn Ġtotal Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġemploys Ġ570 Ġpeople Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcity Ġestablished Ġa ĠDepartment Ġof ĠHomeland ĠSecurity Ġ( ĠDHS Ġ) Ġshortly Ġafter ĠHurricane ĠKatrina Ġin Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġbecoming Ġthe Ġonly Ġlocal ĠDHS Ġin Ġthe Ġstate Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġoversees Ġan Ġarea Ġof Ġnine Ġcounties Ġ. ĠUpon Ġreceiving Ġ$ Ġ2 Ġ@ . @ Ġ5 Ġmillion Ġin Ġgrants Ġfrom Ġthe ĠMississippi ĠEmergency ĠManagement ĠAgency Ġand Ġother Ġorganizations Ġ, Ġthe Ġdepartment Ġbegan Ġtraining Ġlaw Ġenforcement Ġoffices Ġfrom Ġother ĠSouthern Ġstates Ġin Ġpassenger Ġrail Ġrescue Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġoffering Ġcivilian Ġclasses Ġin Ġbasic Ġhandguns Ġ, ĠBoy ĠScout Ġfirst Ġaid Ġand Ġhunting Ġ, Ġand Ġfirearms Ġtraining Ġ. ĠThe ĠDHS Ġhelps Ġduring Ġtimes Ġof Ġcrisis Ġsuch Ġas ĠHurricane ĠIvan Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthe Ġdepartment Ġhelped Ġestablish Ġand Ġsupport Ġshelters Ġfor Ġ700 Ġevac ue es Ġ. ĠThe Ġcity Ġnow Ġserves Ġas Ġthe Ġleader Ġof Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġtask Ġforces Ġin Ġthe ĠMississippi ĠDHS Ġ, Ġa Ġcombination Ġof Ġthree Ġnine Ġ@ - @ Ġcounty Ġteams Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠHe aded Ġby Ġpolice Ġchief ĠLee ĠShel b ourn Ġsince Ġ2009 Ġ, Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠPolice ĠDepartment Ġconsists Ġof Ġ115 Ġfull Ġ@ - @ Ġtime Ġofficers Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġpart Ġ@ - @ Ġtime Ġand Ġreserve Ġstaff Ġavailable Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2009 Ġ, Ġthe Ġdepartment Ġ' s ĠCriminal ĠInvestigations ĠDivision Ġresponded Ġto Ġ4000 Ġcases Ġ, Ġ2000 Ġof Ġwhich Ġwere Ġfel onies Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2000 Ġ, Ġ20 94 Ġcrimes Ġwere Ġreported Ġ, Ġup Ġslightly Ġfrom Ġ2008 Ġcrimes Ġthe Ġpreceding Ġyear Ġ. ĠMeridian Ġhas Ġbeen Ġdescribed Ġas Ġ" Ġthe Ġsafest Ġcity Ġin ĠMississippi Ġwith Ġmore Ġthan Ġ30 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġpeople Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe ĠEast ĠMississippi ĠCorrectional ĠFacility Ġis Ġlocated Ġin Ġun inc orporated ĠLauderdale ĠCounty Ġ, Ġnear ĠMeridian Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġoperated Ġby Ġthe ĠG EO ĠGroup Ġon Ġbehalf Ġof Ġthe ĠMississippi ĠDepartment Ġof ĠCorrections Ġ. ĠThe Ġchief Ġof Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠFire ĠDepartment Ġis ĠAnthony ĠClayton Ġ. ĠThe Ġfire Ġdepartment Ġresponded Ġto Ġmore Ġthan Ġ1600 Ġcalls Ġin Ġ2009 Ġ, Ġincluding Ġ123 Ġstructural Ġfires Ġand Ġ6 09 Ġemergency Ġservice Ġcalls Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠMississippi ĠDepartment Ġof ĠMental ĠHealth Ġoperates Ġthe ĠEast ĠMississippi ĠState ĠHospital Ġin ĠMeridian Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠPostal ĠService Ġoperates Ġthe ĠMeridian Ġ, ĠNorth ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠWest ĠMeridian ĠStation Ġpost Ġoffices Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġstate Ġpolitics Ġ, Ġthe ĠMississippi ĠSenate Ġdistrict Ġmap Ġdivides Ġthe Ġcity Ġinto Ġthree Ġsections Ġ. ĠThe Ġnorthern Ġtip Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġis Ġin Ġthe Ġ31 st ĠState ĠSenate ĠDistrict Ġand Ġseats ĠTerry ĠClark ĠBurton Ġ( ĠR Ġ) Ġ. ĠA Ġstrip Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġfrom Ġthe Ġsouthwest Ġcorner Ġup Ġto Ġthe Ġnortheast Ġcorner Ġcomprises Ġpart Ġof Ġthe Ġ32 nd ĠState ĠSenate ĠDistrict Ġand Ġseats ĠSamp son ĠJackson Ġ, ĠII Ġ( ĠD Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġwestern Ġand Ġsoutheastern Ġportions Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġlie Ġin Ġthe Ġ33 rd ĠState ĠSenate ĠDistrict Ġand Ġseats ĠVid et ĠCarm ichael Ġ( ĠR Ġ) Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe ĠMississippi ĠHouse Ġof ĠRepresentatives Ġdistricts Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġis Ġdivided Ġinto Ġfour Ġdistricts Ġ. ĠThe Ġsouthern Ġand Ġeastern Ġportions Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġreside Ġin ĠHouse ĠDistrict Ġ81 Ġand Ġare Ġrepresented Ġby ĠSteven ĠA . ĠHor ne Ġ( ĠR Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġcore Ġmakes Ġup Ġthe Ġentirety Ġof ĠHouse ĠDistrict Ġ82 Ġand Ġis Ġrepresented Ġby ĠWil bert ĠL . ĠJones Ġ( ĠD Ġ) Ġ. ĠSur round ing ĠHouse ĠDistrict Ġ82 Ġis ĠHouse ĠDistrict Ġ83 Ġ, Ġrepresented Ġby