The question of whether the City of Magnolia is entitled to its per capita share of the county’s sales tax for solid waste collection has ended up where we feared it might — in court.
Monday, the city filed a suit for declaratory judgment in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County. Named as defendants are the state treasurer, Dennis Milligan; Columbia County Judge Larry Atkinson and county treasurer Selma Blair. In short, the city wants a judge to decide the question which has been hanging between Atkinson and Mayor Parnell Vann since April.
We’re told the city filed in Pulaski County due to the inclusion of a state official in its suit. Milligan last month sided with the county when Vann asked the state treasurer’s office to remit proceeds from the tax to the city rather than the county. Simply put, Milligan disagreed with the city’s argument that it should receive the money and opted instead to maintain the status quo. The city also disagrees with at least one other opinion finding that the county is the rightful arbiter of solid waste funds. Hence the lawsuit.
We’ve printed both sides of the argument in our pages since the subject was brought up and there is no need in going back through all the details here. But we will point out some things.
More than a few people are wondering how much this lawsuit will cost the City of Magnolia. Given that it will no doubt take a circuit judge months to get around to the case, the meter will be running on legal fees, etc., to be footed by tax payers. How much will this cost and how will the city pay for it?
This perhaps could have been avoided by face-to-face discussions between the parties. To our knowledge — and we’ve been to every meeting — neither the City Council nor the Quorum Court has discussed the situation in public. If either body had made the topic so much as an agenda item in the past couple of months, this might have been hashed out in public, with a variety of views exchanged, rather than strictly in print or in court papers. Why the lack of communication resulting in a lawsuit?
Most people care about only one thing: their trash and recyclables getting picked up on time. They don’t really care who does it. What’s the public’s buy-in on this? If there’s no change to the way their trash is handled, why are people going to care who handles it? We’re hearing a lot of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Those who ask that may be right if changes are perceived as negative.
We’ve heard that this squabble is making Magnolia and Columbia County the subject of much talk in the state, not all of it favorable. We recommend the two parties get together in some form or fashion and attempt to mend this rift — or at least get citizens involved. We think discussion in a public forum would be a great idea. How about the city and county? There is a lot at stake, not the least of which is public perception.
We said good-bye, in her official capacity, to longtime Banner-News general manager Susan Gill this week with a retirement reception here at our office on Wednesday. It was great seeing Mrs. Gill interact with friends old and new and giving her the send-off she deserved. We wish her well in her retirement.
However, it was also bittersweet seeing her go. She was a caring, tenacious, resourceful and experienced boss who knows Magnolia like the back of her hand, if not better. She genuinely cares about this community and that attitude of commitment shone through in everything she did for the newspaper.
We know that now she will be among our eagle-eyed readers. We hope she will be pleased with the Banner-News in years to come. And we will miss her.