A lot is on the line for Oktibbeha County — almost $20 million worth of appropriations, to be exact — as state lawmakers gear up for battles over upcoming appropriations.
Local leaders say they’re optimistic three large projects will receive full funding from the state. The projects are: Construction of a Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District partnership school at Mississippi State University; a new Mississippi Highway Patrol station in Cornerstone Park; and renovations to the Starkville Police Department.
But after recent boil overs on the House floor and lawmakers jockeying for position ahead of the Senate’s upcoming spending proposal, Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman said he’s holding his breath as the political trade winds guide the legislative process.
Landing all three requests, he said, isn’t guaranteed.
“It’s futile to predict what will happen at this point, but we have a shot,” he said of the police station request. “All of the requests we’ve made are meritorious requests that would be worthwhile investments of state revenue. We’ve had encouraging conversations with our local legislative delegation and the committee chairs that deal with the requests.”
Repeatedly this term, area House members have said Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and the Senate hold the power to make or break appropriations expected in the upcoming omnibus budget.
House lawmakers gutted many spending bills earlier this month, reducing their requested allocations to an arbitrary $1 million mark.
Local bills — House Bill 1597, which originally sought $10 million across two years to build the partnership school and House Bill 376, which first called for $6 million to construct the MHP substation — were also reduced before moving out of the House.
Starkville’s request for approximately $2.4 million to assist with renovating the former city hall was not filed in a specific bill, but discussions about the project are expected as the budgetary process moves forward.
District 38 Rep. Tyrone Ellis, D-Starkville, said Oktibbeha County’s combined requests have raised a few eyebrows at the Capitol.
“A closed mouth will never get fed,” he said. “I don’t have a problem asking for what I want. There are some people that are, I guess, envious and jealous, because it seems like the Golden Triangle and Starkville have a lot of success. We’ve been blessed and we’ve gotten a lot of things accomplished, but we have legitimate reasons to ask for what we’re asking.”
Ellis’ confidence aside, other lawmakers have more reserved feelings about landing all three requests.
District 37 Rep. Gary Chism, R-Columbus, said all three “might be safe” since MHP Troop G’s headquarters is a priority and because the city hall request deals with historic property.
Chism authored HB 1597, the House’s surviving SOCSD construction bill. His legislation is seen as a compromise to others, as it originally spread a $10 million allocation across two years instead of seeking a lump sum in a year where Gov. Phil Bryant tapped into the state’s rainy day fund as revenue projections dipped.
“There is a limit,” Chism said. “One of these days, they’re going to say, ‘Enough is enough.'”
Senators could easily reject a last-minute push for additional funding. District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, said the local delegation would make another push for funding the police station renovations next year if the request doesn’t make it into conference legislation.
Starkville aldermen previously authorized $3 million toward SPD renovations, but increasing cost projections moved the project’s price tag to about $5.4 million.
Aldermen this month authorized the $2.4 million state-level request after Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins championed a master plan to renovate the entire 27,110-square-foot structure, bring it up to code and provide for SPD’s future growth.
Perkins, who usually opposes major city spending measures, said cheaper options were not satisfactory and challenged the board to either fully fund the project, explore purchasing a new building or construct a new police station from the ground up.
If state lawmakers do not fund the renovation project this year, Wiseman said the board could either move forward with the full renovation by authorizing additional financing or scale back the project’s scope to meet the city’s existing budget.
The second option, he said, leaves the door open for a future financial request next legislative term to finish out the project.
The partnership school funding request is part of a three-way financing plan to construct a school for all grades 6-7 students in Oktibbeha County.
MSU already committed $10 million toward the project — most of which came from a land donation — and the school district is expected to raise additional monies through a state-authorized reverse referendum.
SOCSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway has said expiring debt should negate a sharp uptick in school taxes once a bond is approved.
House lawmakers approved the amended HB 1597 with a 77-40 vote earlier this month. It was referred to the Senate Finance Committee on March 11.
MHP Troop G’s current headquarters, located at the intersection of Highway 182 and East Lee Boulevard, was last updated in the 1980s and is the last troop headquarters in the state to receive an upgrade.
In addition to serving as the area’s MHP base of operations, it also provides residents with driver’s license renewals and permits for firearms, among other services.
A MHP spokesperson previously said a new facility could also provide commercial driver’s licenses.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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