Starkville Needs a New Form of Government
By Brother Rogers
Starkville needs a new form of government. This need has been apparent for a long time, and it is growing as the city grows. Now is the time for change.
In the early 1990s, Dr. Bill Collins, who was Senator John Stennis’ hand-picked choice as the first head of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, advocated for a move to the mayor-council form of government. This venerable leader, a personal hero of mine, was a man ahead of his time.
Our city’s current form of government, known as code-charter, was created by the Mississippi Legislature in 1894. In short, it is like a government by committee. The Board of Aldermen must deal with the mundane and minutia, which makes their meetings last a long time. Aldermen can have long discussions about a particular residence with overgrown grass or ditch that needs cleaning up. This system works well for small towns.
Brace yourself for a shock. Starkville is no longer a small town, and we have outgrown the code-charter form of government. Starkville should not operate under the same form of government as Sturgis and Crawford.
When I was a child, Starkville was a small town. It was not even in the top 20 cities in Mississippi in population. But our city has grown (thank goodness) as the university has grown. Many students choose to stay here after graduation, and retirees are returning here. Let’s face it. Starkville is an attractive place to live, and our future is bright if we make good decisions to adapt to our growth.
Today, Starkville’s population is just under 25,000 and growing. We recently surpassed Columbus and Vicksburg to rank in the top 15 cities. The college student population is over 20,000. If we conservatively assume three-fourths of those students (15,000) were counted by the U.S. Census in their hometowns, then on any given day during the academic year, Starkville is home to nearly 40,000 residents. That number would place us squarely in the top 10 most populous cities in the state. It is long past time for us to stop pretending we live in a small town.
As other cities have grown, they have recognized the need to jettison the old code-charter system in favor of the mayor-council form of government. Nine of the largest cities in Mississippi currently use the more modern mayor-council form: Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Greenwood, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Laurel, Meridian, and Tupelo.
Changing to the mayor-council form would enhance the authority of the mayor and would free the city council from the drudgery of mundane tasks. The mayor could focus on results from city departments, and the council could focus on larger issues such as economic development. This change could make the positions of mayor and city council more attractive to potential candidates. For example, recent mayors of Tupelo, which changed its form of government in the 1990s, include some of the most respected political leaders in our state: Jack Reed, Jr., Larry Otis, and Glenn McCullough, Jr.
The movement to a mayor-council form of government is not a partisan issue. It attracts Democrats and Republicans who value executive-driven leadership to achieve results.
Changing the form of city government in Starkville is a gift we can give our children. It is not a panacea, for sure, but it is a long overdue step in the right direction. It is an opportunity that comes along only once in a generation. If Dr. Collins was still here, he would tell us that it is an idea whose time has come.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News who works at the Stennis Center for Public Service.
Starkville needs a new form of government. This need has been apparent for a long time, and it is growing as the city grows. Now is the time for change.
In the early 1990s, Dr. Bill Collins, who was Senator John Stennis’ hand-picked choice as the first head of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, advocated for a move to the mayor-council form of government. This venerable leader, a personal hero of mine, was a man ahead of his time.
Our city’s current form of government, known as code-charter, was created by the Mississippi Legislature in 1894. In short, it is like a government by committee. The Board of Aldermen must deal with the mundane and minutia, which makes their meetings last a long time. Aldermen can have long discussions about a particular residence with overgrown grass or ditch that needs cleaning up. This system works well for small towns.
Brace yourself for a shock. Starkville is no longer a small town, and we have outgrown the code-charter form of government. Starkville should not operate under the same form of government as Sturgis and Crawford.
When I was a child, Starkville was a small town. It was not even in the top 20 cities in Mississippi in population. But our city has grown (thank goodness) as the university has grown. Many students choose to stay here after graduation, and retirees are returning here. Let’s face it. Starkville is an attractive place to live, and our future is bright if we make good decisions to adapt to our growth.
Today, Starkville’s population is just under 25,000 and growing. We recently surpassed Columbus and Vicksburg to rank in the top 15 cities. The college student population is over 20,000. If we conservatively assume three-fourths of those students (15,000) were counted by the U.S. Census in their hometowns, then on any given day during the academic year, Starkville is home to nearly 40,000 residents. That number would place us squarely in the top 10 most populous cities in the state. It is long past time for us to stop pretending we live in a small town.
As other cities have grown, they have recognized the need to jettison the old code-charter system in favor of the mayor-council form of government. Nine of the largest cities in Mississippi currently use the more modern mayor-council form: Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Greenwood, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Laurel, Meridian, and Tupelo.
Changing to the mayor-council form would enhance the authority of the mayor and would free the city council from the drudgery of mundane tasks. The mayor could focus on results from city departments, and the council could focus on larger issues such as economic development. This change could make the positions of mayor and city council more attractive to potential candidates. For example, recent mayors of Tupelo, which changed its form of government in the 1990s, include some of the most respected political leaders in our state: Jack Reed, Jr., Larry Otis, and Glenn McCullough, Jr.
The movement to a mayor-council form of government is not a partisan issue. It attracts Democrats and Republicans who value executive-driven leadership to achieve results.
Changing the form of city government in Starkville is a gift we can give our children. It is not a panacea, for sure, but it is a long overdue step in the right direction. It is an opportunity that comes along only once in a generation. If Dr. Collins was still here, he would tell us that it is an idea whose time has come.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News who works at the Stennis Center for Public Service.