What are the biggest challenges facing county governments in Mississippi?
County government is very close to the people, and affects many of the key components of folks’ every day lives – schools, libraries, roads, bridges, taxes, garbage, property values and the like. I think the biggest challenge we face on the county Board of Supervisors where I serve is the increasingly heavy burden that is pressed down to the local level as the federal and state governments carry less and less of the load that has historically been handled at that level. We are facing pressure in road and bridge construction and maintenance, educational infrastructure, human services and other key areas. In my county, thanks to a good rate of growth, we will be able to handle most of these challenges if we act prudently. But many counties are going to have very serious problems grappling with the newly imposed expenses they are being handed.
