Oops!

By Staff
June 1, 2003
Meridian residents along a flood-prone, rodent-infested stretch of Gallagher Creek were told by the city council that state law does not allow the city to clean it up. The erosion of their yards into the creek is a problem the council is powerless to solve, residents were told. The city council, as was reported, punted the problem to the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors.
Well, in light of new information that surfaced last week, it seems that someone has some explaining to do.
A state law that appears to apply in this situation was brought to our attention and it's pretty specific about what municipalities can do to clean up drainage ditches, prevent erosion and change the course of channels or streams and other water courses.
Here are the essential parts of Sec. 21-19-13 of the Mississippi Code, good through July 1, 2005:
This paragraph shall not impose any obligation or duty upon the municipality and shall not create any additional rights for the benefit of any owner of public or private property."
A third paragraph says no additional taxes shall be imposed to pay for these activities unless the city's governing authority takes certain legal steps declares its intention to levy the taxes, establishes the amount, informs the public and gives opponents the opportunity to petition against it, and, if enough signatures are garnered, holds an election on the issue.
Why some council members would tell folks along Gallagher Creek anything else is baffling. Why not just state the obvious sorry, folks, but the city doesn't have enough money to do this cleanup and leave it at that? The question of legal authority shouldn't even have come up.
Sometime soon someone in the city's governing authority ought to have the courage to set the record straight. Either that or try to work within this law to correct the problems.