A Message from Mayor Nancy Depreo about the Non-Binding Referendum
Diamondhead has a path to choose, and the City is looking for feedback from it’s residents.
The two referendums on the general election ballot are nonbinding, which means it is a chance to give residents a voice. Municipal referendums can only be used in municipal elections and a City election only happens every four years, so the Council decided to include it on this year’s ballot.
The City and its officials have received many inquiries as to why tens of thousands of dollars have been expended by Diamondhead Water and Sewer District (DWSD) and Diamondhead Fire Protection District (DFPD) to influence the vote. After the City passed a resolution to include the referendums on the ballot, the DWSD & DFPD, a count of less than 50 people, decided to launch the ‘NO’ campaign. The City, fearful that false information would be spread, inquired with the Attorney General’s office, and received guidance saying government entities cannot expend funds to influence an election, as this does not meet the purpose for which funds have been collected. Therefore, the City has remained neutral during this entire process and has no control over what the other entities do with their funding.
Consolidation is not an easy topic, but we officials have been discussing it for 10 years. There are no surprises here. This is a conservative measure to reduce government. Quick analysis shows that the combined budgets for all taxing authorities in Diamondhead are over $17,000,000. Neighboring Cities are much less. Multiple reports since the City incorporated have listed benefits to our residents by consolidating and reducing the size of our government. Developers and leaders of industry do not want to deal with THREE separate government entities. Economic development and growth are at the forefront of our agenda. We want our residents and developers to have the best government experience on the Coast and we want that word to spread across the State. This will not happen with our complicated structure. New developments will increase our sales tax base, which could ultimately reduce the cost of property taxes.
City officials and its personnel are highly qualified to lead the consolidation effort. The only change in governance will be the appointed Boards. This means residents will have a say in who runs their public services. Having elected officials overseeing your water and sewer rates will allow you to have your voice heard, a right that is not given in the current structure.
Three City Council members have experience governing and managing water and sewer districts. We know the DWSD as well as anyone. While serving at the DWSD these Council members accomplished tremendous things. We built the new wastewater treatment plant, reduced rates (with over $10,000,000 in the bank), reduced tap fees to encourage development, settled numerous lawsuits that we inherited, put a well back online after pieces of it had been laying on the ground for years, established a truck purchase plan, established an equipment purchase plan, created a fire hydrant map that included labeling, created a fire hydrant maintenance plan, created fire hydrant books for the DFPD, installed over 40 new fire hydrants to ensure coverage, setup an automated calling system to allow rate payers to receive important messages, updated the SCADA system, repaired lift stations, purchased a camera truck and yes, we received the first 5.0 rating (the highest level) in many years from MSDH. This all happened under the leadership of members on the City Council and many of these accomplishments are still in effect to this day.
Diamondhead Fire District struggles with uncollectible accounts totaling over $400,000. It is difficult to collect fees when you have limited recourse for nonpayers. The City’s source of revenue is property taxes, and the income is virtually guaranteed. In addition, seniors and low-income families are asked to carry the same burden as homeowners with larger homes. If taxes were used to fund the Fire Department, fixed income families would get a break.
Many residents have questions about the retirement for the firemen. The firemen vested in the PERS system will maintain their retirement benefits and credits. We would love for the firemen to continue with PERS but the challenge is how to make it happen. The City has requested a formal opinion from PERS to accomplish this but has yet to receive definitive feedback. We have examined the impact of eliminating PERS, now we are looking for options to keep it.
DWSD recently refunded the $8,500,000 bond and continues with the issuance of a new $12,500,000 bond, even with public opposition. Their debt will soon total $21,000,000, which users will pay for over the next 23 years. This will cost roughly $1,500,000 yearly. The city learned of the issuance by reading the newspaper. DWSD does not answer to the City, which makes it extremely difficult to plan for the future. And this happened after DWSD already increased rates in 2020. Residents are already seeing water and sewer bills near $200 per month.
The City understands that much planning is needed if consolidation is what the residents want. Planning comes after the residents tell us which direction to head in. If consolidation is not the choice, then we will know not to expend further resources on the topic.
The City has not initiated a campaign, and we are not looking at the election as a win or lose, but as a tool to lead us into the future. Either way we are proud to give residents a voice in their own future.
Mayor Nancy Depreo, City of Diamondhead
