It’s not easy to win in municipal government these days.
There’s not a lot of money out there for struggling cities and towns like the ones here in Sunflower County.
That problem is compounded by the fact that none of our municipalities are up to date on their annual audits, which cuts off much of the federal funding opportunities that would normally be available.
It is not all bad news in Indianola, the seat of Sunflower County.
Some things did get accomplished during 2023.
The city, partnering with organizations like Indianola Chamber Main Street, has aggressively attacked the duckweed problems that have plagued the bayou for years.
The city has paved some streets like Coates, Cox, Hampton and others.
Still, there’s room for improvement in 2024.
And the city can improve, even with its audit issues. Here are a few small wins that could make a big difference for the taxpayers this year.
1. Have at least two audits completed by December 2024: The city has been engaged in a very public feud with its former auditing firm, Brown & Ewing. Back in December, the board agreed to allow the company to finish the 2018 audit, which is said to be on track for completion at the end of the month. After that, a new firm should be able to start on the 2019 audit. If all goes well, the city should have two audits in the books and perhaps started on the 2020 audit by year’s end. This could put the city on track to be caught up in 24 months. This sounds optimistic, based on how far behind the city has gotten on this matter, but with diligent focus, it can be done.
2. Fix the stop light at Front Street and Main Street: This should not be a hard one, but that light has been out for months. The city’s stopgap, which includes a short stop sign often shielded by parked cars on the street, is not sufficient. There’s probably more work there than simply changing a bulb, but this is something that has to be within the city’s capabilities to tackle.
3. Continue the partnership with Indianola Chamber Main Street: The civic organization announced in December a $100,000 ARPA grant that will help beautify downtown Indianola. The city made a commitment to Chamber representatives to help get these projects off the ground and to provide support when needed when it comes to improving landscaping, installing music speakers and other things. Our hope is that partnership will continue to flourish for the good of the citizens.
4. Improve trash pickup: One of the more disappointing things about 2023 was the oftentimes abysmal trash and debris pickup around the city. We’re not talking about the contracted household garbage service. This has more to do with debris left on street corners for the city to pick up, only to have it sit there for weeks at a time in some cases. Public works is busy, but we’d like to see a renewed focus from the department when it comes to helping to keep the city clean. We have called for citizens and businesses to make sure the areas in front of their homes and businesses are clean. If everyone does their part, we can clean up Indianola.
5. Pothole and street repair: This is another sore subject for Indianola citizens. We understand that potholes are a fact of life for most Delta towns, and it’s hard for our city crews to keep up, but when the city does attempt repairs to such gaping holes, the repaired pavement is often as hard on a vehicle as the pothole itself. Surely the city can do some research and find some better training and pothole repair methods than have been employed here in recent years.
These are just a few ways Indianola can score some wins that the citizens and the government can be proud of in the next 12 months.
We hope even more is tackled in 2024. It will take hard work and dedication, but all of this can be done.
