The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors and Starkville Board of Aldermen could enter into a mutual agreement for federal and state lobbying efforts with Cornerstone Government Affairs next week.
Board President Orlando Trainer and Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman confirmed a pending $60,000 contract to be shared between both governing bodies will be listed for discussion at Monday’s supervisors meeting and Tuesday’s aldermen meeting.
The agreement would last through September, the end of Fiscal Year 2015-2016. Both entities would also cover other minor costs, including travel.
A copy of the contract was unavailable for inspection Thursday, but is expected to be included in the city’s e-packet when it is published online Friday. The county also publishes its upcoming agendas on Fridays, but specific information about each discussion item — including pending contracts — is not included with that document.
Cornerstone was founded in 2002 in Washington D.C. It now operates offices in Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia. Its website states Cornerstone provides clients “discreet and hands-on public affairs, lobbying, strategic consulting, advocacy and marketing services.”
Its Jackson office opened five years ago. In Mississippi, its website lists legislative and regulatory lobbying, procurement, issue monitoring and intelligence gathering, state appropriations and budgets, strategic counseling, economic development, coalition building and legislative drafting as local services.
Its in-state client list includes Atmos Energy, Butler Snow, BP America, Chevron USA, C Spire, Ingalls Shipbuilding, the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, the Mississippi Board of Nursing, the Mississippi Economic Council and Mississippi State University, among others.
Trainer said he’s hopeful supervisors will approve the contract after experiencing the firm’s recent work with the state supervisors’ association.
“They have a good presence on the federal side. With the way things are, we need someone to help us, because there are a lot of agencies with a lot of dollars out there. If we have the right people pointing us in the right direction, we could see a lot of success,” he said. “Gaining their services would be like having an extra tool in the toolbox. We have to have someone on board to find these dollars and then follow up to get commitments, utilize our congressional delegation and leave no rock unturned. If we pay $30,000 and get $90,000 back, that’s a great return on our investment.”
Wiseman said the potential deal will allow Starkville to become aggressive at seeking funding opportunities without adding additional employees and their associated salaries and benefits.
“There’s efficiency there when the city and county come together by sharing costs and thinking about funding requests and projects together. We’ve had some success getting funding for local projects through the legislative process, but we haven’t had an active program to aggressively seek out those opportunities. Cornerstone could provide us with that active program,” he said.
If hired, Cornerstone is expected to hit the ground running, as several local projects require funding.
Starkville is expected to seek funding to help alleviate the upcoming costs associated with renovating the former city hall, which now serves as Starkville Police Department’s base of operations. The city is also expected to seek money to help with preparing old landfill area for future Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park.
On the county side, supervisors could face a steep bill to repair Oktibbeha County Lake.
The board previously expressed interest in pursuing state and federal grants for repairs after County Engineer Clyde Pritchard said a portion of the lake’s levy running alongside a state-aid road shows excessive signs of slope failures.
Another major failure, he said earlier this month, could take the road along with it.
Trainer mentioned the pending lake project specifically while discussing Cornerstone’s ability to find state and federal funding opportunities.
Supervisors will meet 5:30 p.m. Monday at the county courthouse, while aldermen will meet 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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