Aldermen approve $167,318 parks claim; year-end report shows $100,302 loss

Aldermen in Starkville, Mississippi, approved a claims docket containing a $167,318.04 parks-department reimbursement to CSP Sports Facilities Companies, LLC, on Oct. 20. The authorization is established; whether the city subsequently paid the claim is not.⁠[1][2][3][4]

Our earlier report on the parks’ year-end finances identified the claim but left its approval unresolved. The meeting recording establishes that the docket’s approval motion carried after a voice vote that included an audible “nay”; it does not establish a numerical tally.⁠[1][2][3][4]

The docket describes the parks claim as “BALANCE TO RESTORE,” while its account summary classifies it as reimbursement. The pre-vote summary lists $0 in the payment column for that account. The docket and year-end financial table do not reconcile the $167,318.04 claim with the parks report’s $100,302 loss, so the amounts should not be treated as interchangeable.⁠[4]

Starkville Parks/Cornerstone’s September report shows that fiscal 2025–26 ended with a $100,302 net loss instead of the budgeted $150,000 surplus—a $250,302 miss. That loss remained after $2,179,854 in subsidy income and another $420,000 labeled “Other (Management Fee).”⁠[4]

Utilities were the largest expense surprise: $540,397 against a $360,500 budget. Septic/waste services cost $137,960 against a $30,000 allowance, while water cost $146,209 against $75,000. Together, those two categories account for about 88% of the report’s $202,964 expense overrun. The table shows where costs exceeded the plan, but does not explain why.⁠[4]

Revenue also fell short, reaching $1,064,907 against a $1,134,000 budget. There were bright spots: facility rentals exceeded their target by $29,123, and events and tournaments brought in $67,390 more than budgeted.⁠[4]

The accounting distinction matters. The report lists $599,849 in direct program and sales costs separately from its $3,165,214 expense total. Combined costs were about $3.77 million, compared with about $1.06 million in revenue; subsidy and management-fee income covered most, but not all, of the difference.⁠[4]