STARKVILLE – Aldermen plan to rescind an order approved earlier this month that would have shifted Starkville Utilities’ Power of Change program to a voluntary opt-out model after discovering a 2023 Mississippi Attorney General opinion that opposes the program altogether.
The program historically required customers to opt in, rounding bills up to the nearest dollar to support the Starkville Community Foundation’s utility assistance fund. In light of the AG opinion, the city now plans to halt the program entirely.
“It’s a shame,” Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch following the board’s Friday work session at City Hall. “I think it’s a way for us to support our community and … it circles right back to the city’s utility system, which we are not allowed to donate services to anyone who has used them. This was another way to do that in a more charitable fashion, but it is what it is.”
Spruill cited an AG opinion issued to the town of Leakesville that denied authorization to round up water and sewer bills to the nearest dollar for donation to a local community action agency. The opinion stated municipalities do “not have the authority to intentionally collect a surplus of utility system revenues,” adding that donations made by a municipality are “unlawful.”
Ward 2 Alderwoman and Budget Chair Sandra Sistrunk called the AG’s opinion a “very narrow interpretation” of the law.
“I view it as us serving as a clearing house,” Sistrunk said, referring to the Power of Change program. “This was never revenue of the city. It was never going to be used for city operations. It was always going to be handed off to somebody. So it was strictly a clearing house kind of thing. It was not a donation on behalf of the city, and the AGs office doesn’t look at it that way.”
Starkville Community Foundation’s utility assistance fund – supported by donations from utility customers, the foundation and local churches – assists five residents per week who cannot pay their full utility bill, SCF Executive Director Stacey Parvin previously told The Dispatch. That assistance totals roughly $1,250 per week.
Only 31 Starkville Utilities customers opted in to the program in the last quarter, contributing about $2,300 to the fund. Starkville Utilities Director Edward Kemp said the department hoped shifting to the opt-out model would generate about $7,000 per month to the fund.
Without the program, the foundation will rely solely on private donations and other fundraising efforts.
Sistrunk said while the AG opinion is not binding, acting in opposition to it could put the city on “shaky legal ground.”
One possible alternative would be to add Starkville Community Foundation to the city’s list of outside agency contributions in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
Spruill said that option could be explored, though any city funding would need to be designated for a specific purpose, which could complicate efforts to direct money to utility assistance.
“It just depends on what our allowance is for ensuring that the funds go where we would have originally directed them,” she said. “… I don’t know exactly what the ins and outs of that would be from a statutory perspective. They certainly could come apply … but I don’t know that we could conceivably direct them toward utilities.”
The board originally approved the opt-out change 6-1 with Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, who oversees Ward 6, casting the lone dissenting vote, calling the move a “mini tax.”
Following Friday’s work session, Perkins said he was pleased with the board’s decision to rescind the motion.
“I’m excited to know that the … mayor and the board has … reexamined it and realized that the matter is not legally allowable, and I am further excited to know that the city is going to follow the law,” he told The Dispatch. “And the law is just real clear. It does not allow for the city to force taxpayers to make a contribution for the purported Power of Change program.”
A motion to rescind the original order was placed on consent for consideration during the board’s regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
City engineer search
The city will also begin searching for a new city engineer in the coming weeks, as longtime employee Cody Burnett prepares to depart for a position with the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s Safety Division.
“It’s bittersweet because we’re getting a lot of good things from a family and personal perspective, but the thing I’ll miss the most is this job and the people I work with because it’s really been a blessing,” Burnett told The Dispatch on Friday. “I get asked a lot, ‘What’s it like working for the city?’ … It’s really neat to use your skills and your training to make your community better, and that’s been a cool thing to do.”
Spruill said Burnett’s departure will be a loss to the city.
“He’s been wonderful, and you always hate to lose a valued employee, but I also wish him the very best because he’s moving forward to a place that works better for his family,” she said. “And … we find ourselves dealing with MDOT on many, many levels, and so I fully expect to hear from him again, or need his services, or have his recommendations coming to us for other services through MDOT.”
Spruill said the board has yet to determine when it will begin advertising for the position. Burnett will remain in office through May 28 and continue working remotely for the city through the end of June.
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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 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
