Lowndes Co. Supervisors leverage this year’s internet use tax for paving plan loan
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – If there’s one thing people across the political spectrum can agree on, it’s that everyone wants better roads. That’s why the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors spends between $2 million and $3 million a year on paving projects.
But this year, they’re going the extra mile, actually several of them.
Supervisors are leveraging the county’s share of the state internet use tax, which is around a million dollars a year, to take out a loan that will add an extra five million dollars to this year’s paving plan.
“So, instead of just adding a million dollars to our regular road plan, because you get some economies of scale by doing a larger program, every five years we borrow five million dollars, pave five million dollars worth of roads, and service that debt with the payments we’re receiving from the use tax, and that’s about a million dollars a year, so that use tax is paying for this program. But, we as a county have to determine which roads need the most paving,” said Lowndes Co. Supervisors President Trip Hairston.
At this morning’s meeting, Supervisors approved advertising for proposals for the loan and advertising for bids for the paving job.
