Lowndes Co. Supervisors work to finalize priorities before Legislative session
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi’s legislative session begins next week, and city and county governments are finalizing their priorities.
At their year-end meeting, Lowndes County Supervisors discussed a few of the things they’re looking for in Jackson this year.
Topping the list is continued support for Mississippi University for Women and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.
Board President Trip Hairston says calls for moving the gifted high school from The W’s campus don’t seem to be as loud this year, so they are prioritizing increased funding for MSMS.
Supervisors are also seeking clarification on some issues, including how the state incentivizes solar farms. Lowndes County has worked out fee-in-lieu agreements for some, but the Legislature is also offering state-backed incentives. Some think those incentives could counteract the county concessions and ultimately hurt their bottom line.
“So, that erodes the incentives that the school district and the county get over time. To me, that doesn’t make any sense. And, so, somebody, a county, our county, Lowndes County, we’ve been very fortunate with a lot of economic development, but smaller counties and some rural counties, and some in the Delta, who need these funds for their school districts, they’re going to watch that funding just erode away. And, so, that needs to be clarified,” said Hairston.
There are also some infrastructure and building projects the county would like state funds for, including a sewer project in District 4, a multi-purpose building at the new Sportsplex, and last-mile funding for the Columbus amphitheater
