GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Development Authority intends for 51 percent of new jobs at the state port to be filled by low- to moderate-income residents. But the agency never said current jobs would meet that goal. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has raised concerns over job numbers.
The Sun Herald reports MDA secured $570 million in HUD recovery dollars for improvements at the port's West Pier as an economic development project that would benefit low- to moderate-income residents.
HUD informed MDA this spring the agency had documented only 50 of 1,286 existing jobs claimed at the port
MDA says in the response only 10 percent of port jobs were held by low- to moderate-income people when HUD awarded funding. They say compliance will ultimately come through creation of new jobs.
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