After the publication of Mayor David Starling’s public comment on city work crews cutting grass on private properties, the council’s board attorney contacted The Herald to clarify his comments.
Board Attorney Lilli Evans-Bass told The Herald she knew what Starling “was intending” to say with his comments, but she wanted clarification on his statement, which he made publicly during the recent Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.
“Once a piece of property has went through the regular resolution process, the city may re-enter that property for 24 months,” she said, last Thursday. “That allows the municipality to keep a property clean without going through the process over and over again.”
During last week’s city council meeting, Starling said city work crews would be seen on private properties cutting grass.
“I want the community to know you will see public works on some private property,” Starling said, during the July 24 meeting. “It doesn’t matter to me. I am not trying to run down the property owner in California because the grass needs cutting on Fifth Street. We are going to get in there, and get it done. It is our goal. It is our focus to clean this up. You will not see public works in my yard, in (the aldermen’s) yards, but you will see them on some other private properties, especially if no one is living in them. We are going to clean Yazoo City up.”
Evans-Bass told The Herald that she, Starling and Alderman Jammie McCoy had a previous conversation about the city re-entering private properties to tend to grass cutting following the regular resolution process. She added that she feels Starling’s comments were in reference to their conversation.
However, that conversation nor the legal explanation were not publicly discussed following Starling’s public commentary during the last city council meeting.
