Newton County’s three state representatives stopped by the Newton County Board of Supervisors Thursday to discuss the upcoming legislative session and collect the county’s shopping list of projects awaiting funding.
Among the top issues discussed was $10 million in BP oil settlement funds that would be available for Mississippi counties to put toward special projects.
Rep. Randy Rushing, R-Decatur, told the board the funding could go toward anything, but warned a large project wouldn’t be likely.
“Number one it’s funds available. Secondly, it’s political,” he said. “We’re going to be scrapping for what we can get with all the legislators over there.”
Most of the BP settlement funds will go to the six gulf coast counties impacted by the 2010 oil spill, Rushing said. That will leave about $10 million for projects across the remaining 76 counties.
Rushing urged the supervisors to think outside the box with their recommendations. With the availability of funding, projects that could be funded through State Aid funds or Local System Bridge Project funds might be better holding for those program funds.
“We need to go after stuff that you might not otherwise get funding anywhere else,” he said.
Representative-elect Troy Smith also told the board the county should see a partial allocation from the tax collected on online transactions.
Smith told supervisors the allocations would be phased in over four years, beginning in 2020 with an allocation for around $125,000. The next year, the county would receive about $250,000, then $375,000 before reaching the full allocation of about $500,000.
The internet sales revenue could be used to pay down a bond for large projects, Smith said. He suggested the supervisors look at taking out a bond for a large project such as radios for county first responders, then pay back the bond with the internet funds.
“That’d pay a bond off pretty quick,” he said. “Use it like that, and you don’t have to go up on your taxes because your using that money from the state.”
While the Board of Supervisors works to compile a list of potential projects across the five beats, the board did have some requests on other issues as well.
Beat 3 Supervisor Charles Moulds said he would like to see the reverse auction bidding process go away, see the age-limit for fire trucks get pushed back so rural districts can keep their trucks longer, and have changes made to allow Newton County to collect the $1 911 fee on cell phones.
The cell phone tax, Rushing said, is “an ongoing fight.” The current rule, which sends the $1 fee to the county where the cell phone was purchased, has a strong backing from counties that are getting the funds. Rural counties, like Newton County, are against the current rule, wanting to send the money to the resident’s county of residence instead.
Although no changes have been made yet, Rushing assured the board redirecting cell phone 911 fees was an ongoing debate within the legislature, and he said he would keep fighting to bring Newton County its share.
