Residents concerned about crowd size, violence at McKee Park Starkville city officials, led by Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk, speak at a town hall meeting at McKee Park Thursday evening. Sistrunk presented both short-term and long-term plans for creating a safer environment in city parks. Tyler B. Jones/Dispatch Staff
Tytus Brown mentors kids at McKee Park every week through his mentorship program, Brothers Against Violence.
While he and his kids were not at the park Tuesday night when a drive-by shooting occurred just after 9 p.m., he said they had been there just a short hour prior. He said the situation upset him because he aims to prevent violence at the same place violence had occurred.
Aldermen to consider furloughs, pay cuts for city staff amid pandemic Lynn Spruill
Starkville aldermen will consider a proposed $737,500 in cuts to the city’s budget to start to make up for what Mayor Lynn Spruill said she anticipates to be a $1.3 million sales tax revenue shortfall due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The cuts include a 20-percent pay cut for the mayor, board of aldermen and all city department heads and a furlough of 15 percent of the city’s employees, both until further notice.
Spruill’s salary (an annual pay of $75,000) would be cut by $1,250 per month with this measure. The aldermen, now with an annual salary of $20,000, would see their pay slashed by roughly $333 per month.
Starkville, Mississippi, is expected to receive around $5.78 million from the American Rescue Act, according to funding estimates from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The American Rescue Act, a $1.9 trillion relief bill passed by Congress in March of 2021, is set to aid Americans with the negative economic effects of COVID-19.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform reports that Mississippi will collect approximately $2.9 billion for its legislature, metropolitan cities, smaller towns and cities, counties and capital projects from the $350 billion total allocated to the 50 U.S. states, localities, tribal governments and territories.
The act passed by Congress is different from other bills passed in previous periods of emergencies. The American Rescue Act has an amount of funds to be distributed directly to counties and metropolitan areas, rather than have each state s government determine how much money a county or city gets.
DiCicco defeats Gavin in Ward 6 election; Incumbents cruise in Starkville
By Isabelle Altman and Zack Plair 2 hours ago
Starting July 1, Ward 6 will have a new representative on the Columbus City Council.
Republican Jacqueline DiCicco unseated current councilman and Vice Mayor Bill Gavin in a landslide, 301-114, in the Republican primary for Ward 6. With no other candidates in the race, DiCicco will be unchallenged in the general election on June 8.
The Democratic primary for Ward 4 Columbus council seat is undecided with a 91-90 margin and up to three affidavit ballots still to be counted.
Former Ward 4 Councilman Marty Turner leads Pat Fisher Douglas by just one vote. Per state law, the Registrar’s Office must wait five days after the election to consider any mail-in ballots that come in, in addition to the three affidavits, meaning the race will not be decided for at least five days.
Starkville’s Ward 4 Republican primary remains tied after election night
By Zack Plair and Tyler B. Jones/[email protected]; [email protected] 6 hours ago
Austin Check
STARKVILLE It will be at least another week before voters in Ward 4 know who the Republican nominee is for their alderman seat.
Austin Check and Kevin Daniels are deadlocked at 92 votes each after in-person and absentee votes in that primary were tallied Tuesday.
City Clerk Lesa Hardin said four affidavit ballots need to be processed in that race, and by law the city must wait five days after the election on mail-in absentees that might still come in.