As a group of Oktibbeha County residents called upon supervisors to invest in local infrastructure and pave their gravel roads Monday, activist Fred Allen shared with them the strategy he used to convince board members to repave New Light Road after almost a decade of lobbying: persistence.
Allen and four other residents spent about 15 minutes of the meeting’s public comment session scolding supervisors for the county’s lack of paving projects in Districts 2 and 5, and board members’ unwillingness to raise taxes or borrow money for infrastructure projects.
“An investment in a road is a direct investment in these people out here. The only reason I came back is because I’m scared. It took us 10 years, but now my road is cracking up a bit,” Allen said. “We’ve been coming here since 2005. Y’all keep coming back, because that’s the only way it’s going to happen. You have to create a movement to encourage. They’re good people, but you have to encourage them to borrow the money.”
Some residents in attendance said they wished they were in Allen’s predicament with an aging paved road, as one man, who did not identify himself during the public comment session, said he’s attempted to get his gravel road paved for decades.
Traffic down the gravel road in District 2 where Melvin Harris lives keeps his home and property covered in dust.
“It’s outrageous. We pay taxes just like everyone else. For the taxes we pay, we shouldn’t have to live like this,” he said.
In the last and current terms, supervisors have sparred over dwindling road improvement money spread across Oktibbeha County’s five districts. Combined with equipment issues and weather delays, some past years’ projects were pushed back in the county’s four-year road plan.
Supervisors previously shied away from broaching a significant road bond, but the board instituted a 1-mill tax increase this fiscal year ahead of a possible issuance’s debt service. District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer, who has championed paving as many county roads as possible with help of a general obligation bond, said supervisors will discuss potential infrastructure projects at their Nov. 21 meeting.
While Trainer has not said exactly how much the county could leverage in a bond, an upcoming $7 million financing package for a new industrial park raised taxes by 1.75 mills this fiscal year.
Former Oktibbeha County School District Superintendent Walter Conley said supervisors should not fear losing an upcoming election if they raise taxes for road improvements.
“I served in public office for 20 years, and I was not afraid to raise taxes. Do you know why? Because I could look at citizens and parents in the face and say taxes were raised to benefit your children,” he said. “If you do what’s right as elected officials – I don’t care if it’s taxes or not – rational people are going to support you.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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