Did Diamondhead do enough research before June 8 referendum? One official says no.

My name is John Kirschenbaum, and I chair the board of the Diamondhead Water and Sewer District. It’s an important job, because making sure Diamondhead has clean, reliable water and sewer services is critical to running any household or business.

It’s one of those things people in Diamondhead have been blessed to be able to take for granted over the years, but ask the residents of Jackson, Hattiesburg, Gulfport or Moss Point what it’s like when you cannot rely on those services from the city. Things come to a halt.

That’s why I was so surprised when the city called for a referendum vote on June 8 about Diamondhead taking control of the Diamondhead Water and Sewer District and Fire District. They did this with zero input from either the Water and Sewer District or the Fire Department.

Nothing. Not a phone call or even an email asking what we thought.

We were as surprised as everyone else when this was announced.

Think about that. The city did not call either entity to get valuable insight into our operations, maintenance, long-term plans, financials or workforce. The city has never run these operations; how could they not consult the experts?

Instead, the city issued a private study by an accountant making the case that they should consolidate and take over these critical services. They offer this study as if it is a definitive report, but it has no input from the actual people who have successfully run these operations for years. And both of these critical services require serious technical skills and experience.

Now, the city wants residents to assume their private study is correct. They also want you to vote to consolidate these services under their control. Of course, the city claims this vote on June 8 is “non-binding and advisory only.” They say the city “only wants to get direction” from residents with regard to consolidation. They claim if you vote “Yes”, the city won’t necessarily take control of the water and sewer services and Fire Department. They further claim a “Yes” vote will just give them good input and can then lead to a discussion about the details.

The city has this exactly backwards. Why should we vote on such a big decision without getting input from all parties and all the facts beforehand?

Furthermore, local governments routinely use “non-binding referendums” to confuse difficult issues in order to claim a mandate from the voters in a low turnout and slim majority vote. That’s why we are fighting this power-grab by the city and urging Diamondhead voters to turnout on June 8 in big numbers to reject the city’s irresponsible and one-sided plan to take over vital services they are not prepared to operate.

Again, the city never asked for any input from the entities they seek to control. On behalf of the Diamondhead Water and Sewer District, I can state unequivocally that we would gladly study and discuss the pros and cons of the city’s plans, but we have not been invited to the table. Nor has the Fire District been included.

Why would the city ask Diamondhead voters to vote before a comprehensive study and discussion rather than after it? It appears they are trying to grab control of these critical services during a low-turnout election when no one is paying attention.

There are too many significant issues in the city’s plan to allow this to pass, including a recommendation to raise taxes by 10 mills for firefighting services. Their plan is irresponsible and would definitely put our current outstanding water, sewer and firefighting services at risk.

Don’t gamble with our critical services. Please join me in voting “no” to both referendums on June 8.

If you want to learn more facts about this issue, please visit www.FlushtheReferendum.com.