On Tuesday, the Starkville Board of Aldermen enacted a city-wide curfew, a measure the board said was to clear up confusion about who is exactly affected by the curfew the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors enacted the day before.
The city curfew is in effect from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m., the same as the county’s curfew.
But the two curfews conflict in one important way and, we fear, will serve to create more confusion than it remedies because of it.
The city’s curfew is in place until April 20. The county’s curfew runs until May 6.
City officials explained that its curfew is aligned with the time period set by the Governor’s shelter in place order, which also expires on April 20. It’s worth noting that the state-wide shelter in place order does not include a curfew. That measure has been left for counties and cities to decide.
Aldermen will meet after Gov. Tate Reeves either extends or cancels the state shelter in place order. The city is not bound by that, however. It could still extend the curfew even if the Governor allows the state’s shelter in place order to expire.
If all this sounds a bit confusing, it is.
On a certain level, it’s understandable why the city chose to follow the timeline of the state-wide order.
But in another respect, having two curfews with two different effective periods only clouds the issue. Since Starkville residents are also Oktibbeha County residents, they are — technically, at least — bound by both curfews. Until April 20, that is. Or maybe beyond that. And, of course, the county may rescind or extend its curfew, too.
It seems there would be much less confusion if the city had set the same expiration date as the county did a day earlier.
That’s what happened in Columbus and Lowndes County.
After Columbus imposed a set of restrictions, including a curfew, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors met and approved the same measures so there would be no confusion for its residents, many of whom live and/or work in the city.
There is no confusion about the COVID-19 rules in the entirety of Lowndes County because the rules are identical to those of the city.
In every crisis, there are lessons to be learned.
One of those lessons should be that, in such circumstances, cities and the counties in which they are located should come together and fashion a single, uniform policy.
Having separate policies that are not consistent with each other only serves to confuse.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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