TUPELO, Miss.- The new Tupelo police headquarters is set to open soon, but they’ll be doing so without the Mississippi state flag.
The Tupelo City Council decided that for one year, the flag will not be flown in front of the facility. Instead the bicentennial banner approved by the Mississippi Economic Council will be used. It was unveiled to the public in late October.
“The council approved an amendment approved by councilman Buddy Palmer to fly the Bicentennial Banner for one year from December 10, 2016 to December 10, 2017 at the police headquarters,” Leesha Faulkner, communications director for the city of Tupelo.
The decision to replace the flag originally was approved in a 5-2 vote on a policy that dictated that municipal facilities with more than one flag pole must fly the Mississippi flag on one of them, according to local media.
No flags are currently flying on the property since the building has not yet opened. The compromise will allow for an approved banner to fly instead of the state flag for at least one year.
The banner features horizontal stripes of blue, white and red with the state seal in the middle of the flag.
News Mississippi has reached out to the Mississippi Economic Council for a comment.
