NEWS

Jackson infrastructure loan prompts authority squabble

Anna Wolfe
Clarion Ledger

The Jackson City Council accepted an $11 million loan to be paid back through the city's 1 percent sales tax program Tuesday, raising questions about  its authority to do so.

Councilmen pointed out that this loan would restrict money within the 1 percent sales tax program, which the Infrastructure Sales Tax Commission is responsible for overseeing.

The city plans to use the emergency loan to fund improvements to both of the city's water treatment plants as well as the replacement of older cast iron pipes throughout the city. Councilmen wanted assurance that the loan would be paid back through that special fund and that it would be recorded as such in the city's finances.

RELATED: JACKSON ACCEPTS $11 MILLION LOAN FOR WATER IMPROVEMENTS

“That’s the issue with the commission, because there’s this idea that the commission is responsible for approving gobs of money at a time, and that’s wrong," Yarber said. "That's the way that we have gone down the road to get things finally moving, but there has been some issues on the commission as it relates to understanding the role. The commission's only role is to approve a master plan. We have put in front of that commission, again in order to get the ball rolling, the first two years of that master plan."

Yarber said it is the responsibility of the council, not the commission, to approve expenditures from that fund.

"The buck still stops with you," Yarber told councilmen. "To some degree the commission is acting like the council, when ultimately that’s not the way that that’s supposed to work, and we’re going to fix that."

But Pete Perry, one of the commissioners, said he disagrees with Yarber's interpretation and that approving a master plan is not the commission's only role. Perry also said he doesn't think the list of projects the commission has approved thus far constitutes a master plan, adding that the city doesn't even have a list of all of its roads and bridges and the condition of each.

Perry said the money from that fund must be spent on projects approved by the commission and that it is the commission's responsibility to ensure that the money is spent in line with those approved projects. The council is not authorized to spend or constrict those funds without first consulting the commission, Perry said.

"That’s not the way the Legislature allowed them to collect this tax," Perry said.

Perry said the city recommended to the commission two years ago that  it not prioritize water and sewer projects because the city has a separate revenue stream for those projects. He also said the commission has never discussed using 1 percent money to replace water pipes, which is what this loan would do.

Perry added that he believes the mayor would rather not have to consult a commission to utilize the special fund.

Councilman Melvin Priester, who also  questioned the mayor about repaying the loan, said the city must accept the loan to make crucial improvements to its water system and that since the city is on a deadline, the details about how it will be repaid should be fleshed out later.

Priester called the legislation regarding the extent of the authority of the commission vague, but added, "I don’t have a problem sharing authority with people like (Tougaloo College President) Beverly Hogan."

"Sometimes, more eyes are better," Priester said.

Yarber said he hopes the commission will be presented a comprehensive master plan in coming weeks.

Contact Anna Wolfe at (601) 961-7326 or awolfe@gannett.com. Follow @ayewolfe on Twitter. 

Miss. Code Ann. 27-65-241. (h) The commission shall, with input from the municipality, establish a master plan for road and street repair, reconstruction and resurfacing projects based on traffic patterns, need and usage, and for water, sewer and drainage projects. Expenditures of the revenue from the tax authorized to be imposed pursuant to this section shall be made at the discretion of the governing authorities of the municipality if the expenditures comply with the master plan. The commission shall monitor the compliance of the municipality with the master plan.