The biggest decision facing Tipton County residents this week comes Wednesday night, when Mason’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen holds a public hearing and a final vote on an ordinance to raise water and sewer rates. The board is also expected to discuss increases to sanitation rates at the same meeting.
The special called meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Mason Police Department. Because the meeting includes both a public hearing and a second reading, residents who want their support or objections entered into the official record must speak Wednesday. After that, the rate change becomes law.
Monday: County budget committees
The week opens Monday with two Tipton County committees that handle dollars before they reach the County Commission. The Finance Committee meets at 4:30 p.m. at the Administration Building, 103 E. Pleasant Ave. in Covington, followed by the Public Works Committee at 6 p.m. at the Emergency Management Agency Building, 8629 Highway 51 S. in Brighton. The committees’ recommendations feed into the County Commission’s May 11 meeting.
Tuesday: Covington Public Works
Covington’s Public Works Committee meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the lower-level conference room of City Hall.
Thursday: Substation, home news office, school board, and Munford
Thursday is the week’s busiest day, with four local government bodies meeting.
Munford holds a 4 p.m. committee meeting – General Welfare, Public Works and the Mayor’s Cabinet – at the City Courtroom, 70 College St.
The Covington Board of Zoning Appeals meets at 6 p.m. on the second floor of Covington City Hall. Three items are on its agenda:
Covington Electric System is seeking a use permitted on appeal to build an electrical substation on a four-acre R-1 site at the northeast corner of Sanford Avenue and East Street. The property lies within a federally identified Zone AE flood hazard area. Staff recommend approval if access-control standards are met.
Paper Folds is requesting a home occupation permit to operate our digital news business office out of our R-1 home. Staff recommends approval, contingent on signage, noise, and traffic conditions being met.
Felicia and Peyton J. Smith are seeking a special exception and lot-of-record approval for a minor subdivision on Quail Road. The application is under review by the city attorney’s office over a question about the property’s future development. No staff recommendation has been issued.
The Tipton County School Board also meets at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Tipton County Schools Central Office Complex, 1580 Highway 51 S. in Covington. They held a budget work session last week.
Who’s not meeting this week
The Tipton County Commission, Covington Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Munford Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Atoka Board of Mayor and Aldermen, the Tipton County Planning Commission and the Tipton County Board of Zoning Appeals do not meet this week. Most of those bodies meet the following week.
How to participate
Public comment opportunities vary by board. The Mason meeting Wednesday includes a formal public hearing, with comments entered into the official record. Most other boards offer a general public comment period at the start or end of their meetings. Agendas, where posted, are linked from each city or board’s website.
The City of Covington will stream its meetings through its Facebook page. The Tipton County Board of Education will stream its meetings through its YouTube channel.
