Council keeps masks, relaxes distancing restrictions
The Columbus City Council voted Friday to end social distancing and capacity restrictions for businesses and restaurants, though the city’s mask mandate will stay in place.
Council votes to keep mask mandate in Columbus
The city of Columbus’ mask mandate will remain in place until at least the next city council meeting in two weeks.
Council members voted 3-2 to keep the mandate and other requirements, including for businesses to post signage reminding customers to wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines, at their regular meeting Tuesday.
Council reappoints Shumake to school board in split vote
The city council reappointed Jo Shumake to the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees in a 3-1 decision at its regular meeting Tuesday.
Shumake, who was first appointed to the school board in March 2016, was one of four applicants for the five-year position.
Shumake, two others apply for CMSD board
The Columbus City Council will appoint one of three applicants for an upcoming vacancy on Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees.
Beard running for re-election in Ward 4
Columbus Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard qualified Monday to run for re-election as an independent candidate.
Columbus sees new council candidates in Wards 1 and 3
Two more candidates have qualified to run for Columbus City Council, one in the city’s first competitive race and one for a seat which the incumbent will not defend.
Box does not plan to run again in Ward 3
Ward 3 Columbus Councilman Charlie Box said Monday he does not plan to run for a fourth term in 2021.
“I’ll keep my options open, but my mind’s pretty much made up,” Box told The Dispatch.
City: Planned Hindu invocation a show of inclusion
Columbus Public Information Officer Joe Dillon has been arranging for religious leaders — mostly local — to give the invocation at the beginning of the twice-monthly city council meetings since he began in his position in 2016.
City seeks funds to address, prevent flood damage to buildings
Columbus City Council unanimously voted Monday night to begin the application process for two federal hazard mitigation grants to address flooding damages.
City converts all debt to private, risking credit rating, transparency
Columbus may lose its credit rating by the end of the month due to delayed disclosure of its Fiscal Year 2019 audit report, according to an Oct. 1 press release from Moody’s Investors Service, a rating agency that assesses the city’s borrowing credibility each year.
3 CPD officers disciplined for body camera violations
Columbus Police Department issues dominated Tuesday night’s city council meeting, which ended with three patrol officers appearing before the council in executive session for apparent violations of the department’s body camera policy.
New CPD policy makes more detectives available for calls
Columbus City Council unanimously approved Tuesday night several changes in the police department’s policy that established a schedule for on-call officers at its criminal investigation division (CID) and articulated the chain of command and the no-drinking rule while on duty.
City moves forward on series of project developments
Columbus City Council voted Tuesday to approve a series of project developments, including a grant application for pedestrian access improvements, bid advertisement for the city’s latest series of street paving and construction work on Lee Park.
Supes consider final location of Confederate statue
Lowndes County supervisors are weighing their options on how and where to relocate the Confederate monument — which now stands in front of the county courthouse — as research into the methods and cost of the relocation is underway.
Audit report: Improper fund transfers spark investigation of city’s FY 18 finances
Money flowed out of the city of Columbus’ general fund bank account without council approval in Fiscal Year 2018, prompting a Mississippi Office of the State Auditor’s investigation into the city’s finances, according to the city’s FY 2018 audit report obtained by The Dispatch.
Council approves 10 new hires for public works, citing delayed services and financial recovery
Columbus City Council unanimously voted Tuesday morning to add 10 full-time employees to the city’s public works department, lifting a hiring freeze on the department that was supposed to last through December as a cost-saving measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
City proposes alternate site for Confederate monument
Columbus City Council will offer Lowndes County supervisors an option between two parcels of land at Friendship Cemetery on which to move the Confederate monument outside the courthouse, after city officials became concerned the first parcel chosen would be too difficult for the monument’s movers to access.
City borrows $6.5M for streets despite financial uncertainty
Despite a projected revenue downturn due to the pandemic, Columbus City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday night to issue a $6.5 million general obligation bond for street paving.
Moving monuments like ‘taking apart and reassembling a jigsaw puzzle’
On Monday, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors voted to relocate the Confederate monument, which has resided on the southwest corner of the courthouse property since it was erected there in 1912.
Columbus donates cemetery parcel to county for monument move
In a unanimous vote, Columbus City Council yielded a piece of land at Friendship Cemetery Tuesday night to Lowndes County for the relocation of the Confederate monument outside the county courthouse.