Jackson Free Press

Hinds County is following through with a January decision to pull out of the Pearl River Basin Development District, removing itself from the auspices of the District regarding upkeep along the Pearl River.

"It was the first of the year when the board decided not to fund or be a part of the Pearl River basin anymore," said Hinds County Board of Supervisor President George Smith. "There were a couple of reasons. It was a matter of funding, and the majority of the board didn't feel like the benefits weighed heavily enough for us to continue to be a member."

Smith said the county was getting back about half of what it invested in the district, and said the board felt the county could more easily get its money's worth by going it alone.

Supervisors have revisited the possibility of pulling out of the district during almost every budget cycle between 2005 and 2008.

"It's been on the table for quite some time, three or four years," Smith said. "It's been pushed by board members who aren't even on the board anymore—it comes up every year there are money issues."

This time a majority of the board went along with it. The county reported that early tax rolls for 2009 showed nearly a $4 million drop in assessed property value throughout the county, while car tag taxes for 2009 were slipping more than $8 million. The county recently abandoned its plans to open a $14 million, 400-bed regional jail for state and county inmates.

Supervisor Phil Fisher reported recently that the county has less than $200,000 in surplus left from this fiscal year's $57.3 million budget, after using about $1 million of its reserve to balance the fiscal 2009 budget. Fisher said the FY 2009 general fund budget (not including the public works budget) started the year at about $60 million, with a surplus of only about $600,000, far below the recommended $6 million, or 10 percent of the county budget.

The county announced its intention to pull out of the district this year, and must wait a year before the removal becomes official, and the county no longer pays the district. The abandonment could save the county up to $400,000 next year, but could also cost the county some services.

Supervisors said they were following the example of Rankin County, an adjacent county that also pulled out of the district with no immediate ill effects.

"A lot of the other counties, including Rankin were already out, and the board felt if Rankin County, which is adjacent to us, could pull out with no real problems then we could do without their service as well," Smith said.

Rankin County Supervisor Walter Johnson did not immediately return calls.

Previous Comments

ID

149585

Comment

The county must also pay "its portion of any district bonds, contractual obligations, and any other indebtedness and liabilities of the district that are outstanding on the date of such county's withdrawal from the district, as well as the withdrawing county's portion of budgeted expenditures of the current fiscal year of the district." Miss. Code Ann. 51-11-87 (1). Does anybody at the County have any idea about how much money that will be? This district has water parks and other facilities up and down the Pearl River which may have bonds associated with them.

Author

pigbodine

Date

2009-07-13T13:37:26-06:00