The council voted Wednesday to opt out of a state law that would have forced anyone soliciting money in the city limits to buy a permit or go to jail.
In a special-call meeting Wednesday at City Hall, which doubled as the council’s regular work session, council members voted 5-0 to opt out of Mississippi’s Safe Solicitation Act, following cities like Olive Branch and Southaven.
“The main reason they opted out were First Amendment concerns of restricting people and the content of their speech, basically,” City Attorney Jeff Turnage told the council.
The act, aimed at curbing panhandling and approved in this year’s legislative session, requires anyone soliciting donations to acquire a permit that can cost up to $25. The law doesn’t specify how long each permit is valid, but because only one permit per intersection is issued daily, the cost effectively becomes a daily fee for anyone soliciting regularly.
Violating the law can result in a $400 fine or up to four months in jail.
While the law became effective July 1, it gave municipalities until Jan. 1 to opt out. Any who don’t opt out by the deadline will be expected to comply, Turnage said.
Turnage recommended the council opt out, but if it didn’t, he said the city needed to go ahead and create the permit application.
“If you’re homeless or broke and you want to solicit funds, where are you going to get $25 to apply for the permit?” Turnage said. “… It just seems like to me the police department has other, more constructive things to do than arresting people for begging for money without a permit. And the building department probably has better things to do than taking in applications for solicitations.”
Vice Mayor Ethel Stewart, who represents Ward 1, moved to opt out, with Ward 4 Councilwoman Lavonne Harris offering the second.
“A lot of, you’ll notice, they work hard just to come along and sell their vegetables,” Stewart said. “They can’t afford a building or store or permit. … We don’t want to object to anyone who has a need trying to feed their family.”
Days after the Safe Solicitation Act went into effect, Main Street Columbus Executive Director Barbara Bigelow sent an email to downtown merchants encouraging them to call 911 when they see panhandling.
“I have expressed that these people are a detriment to our downtown, that not only are you, our merchants, concerned, but our shoppers as well,” she wrote at the time. “This is not a positive ‘look’ for our downtown and it begins with us reporting these individuals to 911 in hopes that we may rid our downtown of them.”
She told The Dispatch in July there had been several incidents of panhandlers lingering near business doorways that had caused concern for downtown merchants.
On Wednesday, Bigelow declined to sound off on the council’s vote.
“I was unaware that the Council was discussing this topic at today’s work session,” she wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “Until I can discuss the reasoning behind this with the Council, I cannot comment on their decision.”
After Wednesday’s meeting, Mayor Stephen Jones called the Safe Solicitation Act “flawed.” Enforcing it would cost the city more money and resources over time, not to mention potentially clog the jail with solicitation violators.
“We don’t think it’s fair to ask somebody who doesn’t have anything to come in and get a permit,” Jones told The Dispatch.
Jones acknowledged panhandling, as well as homelessness, are growing problems – not just in Columbus, but “everywhere.” He said he is meeting with downtown merchants on how to better help them, as well as consulting other cities on ways to compassionately and effectively navigate the issue.
“It’s a complicated issue. I wish we could do more. I wish I could do more, personally,” Jones said. “This is where we are in America, and we just have to deal with it.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
