Starkville’s Code Enforcement: Major Changes Expected
In a bid to expedite the clean-up and maintenance of neglected properties in Starkville, the Starkville Board of Aldermen unanimously endorsed the use of a Mississippi state code provision, as of Aug. 6. This transformation is aimed at enabling the city to rectify certain neglected properties in a significantly short span, within a week of their detection.
What the Code Permits
The 2nd section of the Mississippi Code 21-19-11, enacted post the 2022 legislative session, provides cities with the leeway of cleaning up certain properties considered either a threat or violation, within a week.
Further, this section authorizes certain city officials, including the mayor, the building official, and the code enforcement sergeant, to determine when a property becomes a threat to the public health, safety, and welfare. For instance, a deserted property replete with debris, broken glass, and overgrown grass can be declared a public menace due to a potential risk of injuries.
Yet, some constraints remain: the subject property must be less than one acre and the cost of its clean-up must not exceed $250, excluding administration charges. This provision is intended for smaller cleanup operations involving activities such as mowing and rubbish removal.
Despite floating a bid for a suitable contractor to undertake these tasks, the city has been unable to find one. In the interim, the city’s sanitation department, which currently handles the mowing, will continue to do so until a suitable contractor is identified.
How the Current Hearing Process will Change
One of the primary motivations for opting for this code is the speed it lends to the process of getting certain properties tidied up.
In conventional circumstances, when a code enforcement officer identifies a neglected property, the owner is given two weeks’ notice about a scheduled public hearing, which will decide whether the property can be deemed a public menace. Upon such a declaration, the city must then wait for another 10 days before taking action against the property. This grants the owner a final opportunity to address the issue.
However, the implications of Section 2 of Mississippi Code § 21-19-11 will allow for a faster process. The city is required to send the property owner a seven-day notice of a public hearing upon the property’s identification by an authorized representative. If the owner does not attend the hearing, the city will be cleared to clean up the property.
Properties requiring more than $250 for cleaning, excluding administrative costs, or properties occupying more than one acre will continue to be subject to the conventional two-week notice and 10-day waiting period.
Additionally, property owners may face penalties in the form of either a $100 fine or the total cost of property cleanup, whichever is higher, post the city’s clean up. For mowing, owners may be charged $300 per mow. Non-compliant owners may have a tax lien placed on their property or could be taken to municipal court.
Historical Use of this Code
Starkville is employing Section Two of code § 21-19-11 for the first time, thanks to revisions to the law during the 2022 legislative session. The code originally applied to cities with populations of over 25,000, excluding Starkville. The amendment specifies that it only needs to apply to municipalities with populations over 1,500.
The neighboring city of Columbus turned to this section in 2022 to manage one of its properties.
With these changes, Starkville aims to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of its code enforcement, leading to faster resolution of property maintenance issues and contributing to a safer and more appealing community environment.
