In August, the Mississippi Legislature passed and Gov. Phil Bryant signed the Mississippi Infrastructure Modernization Act during a special session.
MIMA diverts 35 percent of the state’s use tax on online purchases to cities and counties to be used for bridge and road projects. Cities and counties will each receive 15 percent of the funds directly from the Department of Revenue, while the remaining five percent is put into the Local System Bridge Project fund, a state fund used to help municipalities repair bridges without placing extra pressure on residents.
Part of the casino sports betting revenue will also go toward the new infrastructure fund, which is expected to contribute about $5 million each year.
After the bill becomes fully funded in four years, local municipalities will see more than $50,000 per year to do infrastructure improvements. Newton County could see more than a half a million dollars each ear to be used for upgrades. That includes anything from roads and bridges to water and sewer.
The one caveat to this bill is that cities have to maintain what they are spending on infrastructure to get the new money.
While every little bit helps, it’s nowhere near what our county and cities need to maintain roads and all other infrastructure in the community. Sure, the city can raise water rates and fees to help with things like sewer and water, but you can’t raise enough through city fees to help improve your roads and bridges.
Ultimately, it will need to come in the form of taxes, especially through our state gasoline tax. No one wants to pay more taxes, but the amount our state takes in with these gas taxes has been dwindling each year, especially when you consider the constant increase of cost over the years. With the amount of money our local municipalities receive, you probably couldn’t even pave one-half of a roadway mile when you include both lanes and shoulders.
That’s the reason why our roads aren’t in the best of shape. Our cities and counties barely have enough just to fix the rough spots, much less resurface existing roads or try to expand paved streets.
And if you needed to repair a bridge, the county could do one, maybe two bridges per year with what they are receiving. However, there are many more bridges that probably need replacing that are just barely getting by from year to year.
At some point, we have to make infrastructure especially roads and bridges a priority, and to do that, we have to find a way to fund it.
Contact Brent at bmaze@-newtoncountyappeal.com.
