Southaven mayor: City is back from Davis era
Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite Thursday described a community that he says has recovered from the stain of the Greg Davis era. He did so during a State of the City address delivered a day after Mississippi legislators dealt a blow to the funding source for one of Musselwhite’s primary areas of accomplishment.
Musselwhite, who is seeking re-election this spring, outlined successes and discussed priorities for a second term as part of a campaign fundraiser at Landers Center in Southaven. The Republican mayor faces Tommy A. Henley and James Weifenbach in the May 2 GOP primary election. The winner will have no Democratic opposition in the June 6 general election.
Musselwhite defeated Davis in 2013 after the former mayor became embroiled in scandals involving use of city funds. Davis ultimately was ordered to repay more than $170,000 to the city for improper expenses, and he faces a trial in Grenada in June on felony charges of fraud and embezzlement after an earlier conviction was thrown out.
“It’s no secret that in 2012, the city had some problems,” Musselwhite told a packed banquet hall for a luncheon at Landers. “Our number one goal was to restore trust and integrity back to the city of Southaven, and I’m proud to tell you today that we’ve brought our good reputation back. The trust is back, and the money is right.”
Musselwhite said among actions taken to restore trust were establishing a new purchasing policy; eliminating bid manipulation and inflated contract prices, which Musselwhite called “rampant;” revising the city’s promotional expense policy; reviewing city contracts for legality; and making sure audits were clean.
Musselwhite also touched on crime, referring repeatedly to the city’s proximity to Memphis.
“It’s no secret that we border one of the most dangerous cities in America,” Musselwhite said, “so we’ve had public safety challenges and we’ve made it a priority.”
The mayor noted that the city’s violent crime rate is 1.48 per 1,000 residents compared to a Mississippi average of 2.78, national average of 3.66 and Memphis average of 18.99.
“Memphis had 228 homicides in 2016,” Musselwhite said, “so I’m just here to tell you that it’s a challenge but we’ve got it under control.”
Regarding parks and recreation, Musselwhite, a former professional baseball player, said he’ll continue to work for improvements to the city’s park system. Critics say he’s spent too much time on the issue, but Musselwhite said it improves quality of life and makes the city more economically appealing. His primary funding tool for such improvements has been a 1-cent tax on restaurant tabs under the “Penny For Your Parks” special tax approved by voters in 2011 before Musselwhite took office.
The tax has been in the news this week after House members in Jackson on Wednesday voted against giving it a fouryear extension. Such tax extensions are normally approved if local legislators support it, but Southaven’s tax and a similar special tax in neighboring Horn Lake fell victim to resentment from legislators who didn’t get support for their own local taxes from DeSoto House members elected as part of a wave of ultra-conservative anti-tax legislators.
Musselwhite referred directly to the controversy in Jackson only once, saying: “We’ll continue with parks and recreation expansion, regardless of what happens in Jackson with ‘Penny For Your Parks.’ That does not mean we’re going to quit on our parks program. We’re going to find a way to make it happen because it’s important.”
Musselwhite said before Thursday’s luncheon that legislators are trying to find a way to keep the tax alive despite Wednesday’s House defeat. He said the measure may come back before legislators in some form early next week.
Earlier Thursday, state Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, said he was working “to keep it alive.” Parker sponsored the original Senate bill re-authorizing the tax extension for four years, with a stipulation allowing opponents to petition for a referendum. The measure was amended in the House requiring a June 6 referendum to get the bill to a full House vote, where it was defeated anyway.
Parker said if the bill is revived, it would have to return to the Senate if House members approve something other than the bill originally sent to them from the Senate chamber.