Readers urged to join newspaper in call for city/county cooperation

The relationship of this city’s board of mayor and aldermen and the Panola County Board of Supervisors could deteriorate at Monday’s supervisors’ meeting at the Batesville courthouse unless citizens join this newspaper to insist that the elected officials who comprise these two bodies of local government drop petty differences over personalities and fully cooperate with each other on every issue where cooperation is legally possible.
Tuesday’s meeting of Batesville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen was made somewhat awkward when the board of supervisors president showed up to ask questions about the city’s plans for the annexation of county-owned property at the jail and airport and the Panola Partnership-owned industrial park nearby. Differences surfaced in that public venue because the city had not exercised what might be expected as a matter of common courtesy — to discuss with county officials plans that could bring the county-owned property into corporate limits.
Among the issues that spilled over from the annexation discussion was the county’s request for city funding in support for the ambulance service. The supervisor board president had presented, during a tense city budget meeting in August, letters to the mayor and each aldermen requesting the support. Remarks made during a subsequent meeting of the supervisor board and reported in this newspaper prompted a discussion about it during a city meeting in October. City officials heard from their attorney and from their accountant about why such support could be illegal — double taxing city residents who already subsidize ambulance service with the county taxes they pay and state law that prohibits spending city money on residents outside the city among them.
Yet, instead of replying to the supervisors with a letter detailing reasons why it could not subsidize the ambulance service, there was no response. It was an affront to common courtesy and protocol that should occur among elected officials.
This newspaper also viewed the lack of recognition of the supervisor board president in the city meeting room during Tuesday’s meeting as a slight. No big deal, perhaps, but it further contributed to the awkwardness when the supervisor board president responded to an invitation to the audience to ask questions and had to be then introduced to the planner discussing the annexation. Again, common courtesy overlooked.
These slights might be more easily overlooked in flush times, but with both the city and county constantly struggling to provide services without creating greater demands on taxpayers, people get stressed and lose patience.
All of the above notwithstanding, county officials would do well to recognize that Batesville is the thriving economic engine responsible for much of the economic activity that drives the entire county. Batesville taxpayers pay almost $8 million in county ad valorem taxes, according to estimates provided by the city — almost 57 percent of the county total ad valorem tax collections projected at $13.7 million for the current fiscal year. Additional ad valorem taxes collected on city property to fund the South Panola School District’s budget this year amount to $7.7 million, about 75 percent of the $10.4 million in ad valorem taxes required to fund the district’s budget.
The city also has additional revenue sources not available to the county — its gas system which, until recent warm winters, has generated profits that have deferred a need to raise city ad valorem taxes, and sales and tourism taxes. Sales tax is paid by everyone who makes purchases of non-exempt goods and services in Batesville.
Tourism tax is added if those purchases are prepared food and lodging. And many of the people paying sales tax live outside the city but in the county. Every purchase they make from a Batesville business generate sales tax revenue from the city.
In return, the City of Batesville is able to provide or facilitate recreation, tourism, dining, entertainment and other opportunities that would not be available without the sales and tourism tax and would not likely be available if the county had to provide the services.
(Unrelated, except that it was later during the same meeting that Batesville Fire Chief Tim Taylor passed out his monthly report of fire calls which showed that seven of 31 responses during November went to addresses outside city limits. The city’s resources allow 24-hour staffing with career firefighters available when and where needed.)
The County needs to realize that curbing the city’s growth is going to hurt the entire county.
Following an executive session during Tuesday’s city meeting, discussion indicated officials had apparently made plans for contacts that could improve communication with the county. No doubt among city considerations is that a contested annexation would become expensive for city taxpayers.
Subsequently we spoke to a supervisor who agreed on the need for improved supervisor/city communication and also agreed to speak with a city counterpart to begin that improvement.
And again, if you agree with us that city and county elected officials need to work through personal differences and personalities to communicate on any issue that effects both, let them know. Let them know that we expect professional, courteous behavior from the people who represent us and that we expect them to govern for the benefit of the whole community.