Jackson County delivers State of County Address

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WLOX) - Jackson County Board of Supervisors President Ken Taylor presented the 2023 State of the County Address during a private Pascagoula Rotary Club meeting Wednesday morning.

“To sum it up, the state of our county is extremely good,” he said to the group at the start of his address.

It’s an annual progress report that many taxpayers like to see: from the redistricting plan that becomes effective this month to the amount of taxes collected in 2022 ($261 million), the amount of grant money actively awarded ($104.3 million) and this year’s budget ($93.5 million)

“Everybody wants to come hear the supervisors talk, kind of see where things are and what’s going on,” County Court Judge Mark Watts said.

Taylor discussed ongoing and upcoming work on the county’s 920 miles of roads and bridges.

The list of repairs in progress includes the $3 million realignment project at the intersection of Old Fort Bayou Road and Washington Avenue in Ocean Springs.

One of several major road projects to come is a $9.3 million upgrade to the Graveline Road Bridge in Gautier.

In Pascagoula, improvements continue at the Jackson County Animal Shelter.

“We need to really grow that facility, and we’re doing it,” Taylor said. “We’re now in Phase Two, $2.4 million, basically almost doubling the size of it.”

Other topics discussed in the address include recreation, public safety, facility improvements, boat launches, piers and beaches, dredging and drainage, economic development, the Trent Lott Airport and other grant projects.

“All of those quality-of-life indicators are being paid attention to very intentionally, and that helps our community thrive,” said Paige Roberts, President and CEO of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. “The small businesses, the industries, the schools, all of the municipalities, a rising tide really does lift all boats. And Jackson County doesn’t just speak that, they live that.”

To read Jackson County’s full State of the Address report, click here.

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