Improved roads, reduced crime, quality trash pick-up. See goals Jackson council has for 2024
Members of the Jackson City Council have shared their top priorities in Jackson they would like to see addressed in 2024.
Each of the council members said they would like to see more roads improved and repaved in 2024. The city's perennial problem with potholes was brought up by each council member.
"We got to get more asphalt in the ground, in the right place and do it professionally so we don't have to fix it again six months from now," said Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote. "It's not just in my ward, it's all the wards. We've got terminal potholes everywhere."
Council members also discussed a major elephant in the room: the upcoming vote on a new garbage contract in April 2024. Members said they would not like to see what happened in April 2023 — the city's trash crisis which saw garbage piling up on the streets of Jackson for 17 days — happen again in 2024.
"My first goal is to establish a standardized waste collection contract, eliminating unnecessary bickering among municipal leadership," said Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell.
Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay said she would like to see a long-term garbage contract figured out "without all the flame-throwing."
The one-year emergency contract with garbage collection company Richard's Disposal Inc. expires at the end of March. After that, residents will look to the council to see if they can make a decision on which company will receive a long-term contract. If not, Jackson residents should be prepared for another trash crisis.
Below are priorities individual council members told us they think need to be addressed in the year ahead:
Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote
Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote, who represents northwest Jackson, said he would like to see the city and the council figure out the "various legal entanglements that the city is bogged down in."
Specifically, he would like more action from the city's legal department about two lawsuits with garbage company Richard's Disposal that sued the city after being denied a long-term garbage pick-up contract in April. Now, the company is suing the city again in an effort to block the new request for proposals that was issued by Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba in November.
Foote said the city's Office of the City Attorney, headed up by Catoria Martin, needs to take action to get the lawsuit dismissed, something that has been discussed by the council at previous meetings. Foote said some council members question whether the city's legal department is working in the best interest of the council.
"The city council seems to have an adversarial relationship with the city's legal department," he said. "But the city's legal department is supposed to work for the governing authorities. And none of us really feel like that's a relationship where they are working for us. We constantly feel like they are being confrontational with the city council, instead of giving us legal counsel."
At the council's Dec. 19 meeting, members went into an executive session to discuss the possibility of the council hiring their own attorney, but no decision was made on the matter.
Lastly, Foote aims to tackle the issue of abandoned properties in the city, calling it a "terrible situation that needs attention."
"The Secretary State has title to 2,431 properties in Jackson that have been turned over to them for lack of property tax payments for over two years," Foote said. "I have visited with the secretary of state's office and they understand the seriousness of the issue but they are not set up to be a landlord."
Though he emphasized the seriousness of the issue, Foote was at a loss for the best solution to the problem, especially because it exceeds the financial capacity for the city to fix it long term.
"It will require critical thinking to get our arms around these issues," he said.
Ward 2 Councilwoman and Council Vice President Angelique Lee
Ward 2 Councilwoman and Council Vice President Angelique Lee would like to see an increase of programs between community and business partners in 2024, who would work together to "keep our areas free of debris, trash and illegally dumped bulky items.
As with other council members, Lee is also aiming to reduce violent crimes and bring on harsher penalties for criminals. There should be an increase in extracurricular programs for the city's youth, Lee said, which would help them deter from choosing crime.
Lee also wants clean safe drinking water and less raw sewage breaks for residents, two issues the council has consistently heard from residents about in 2023. All seven members of the council recently abstained from voting on increasing the city's water rates in 2024. The rates did not require council approval and will be raised this year.
"I do understand the importance of raising our water rates, and I understand that we need to pay into the enterprise to have a sustainable functioning system that we can eventually turn back over to the city," Lee said. "I understand all of that. But I just can't in good conscious vote to raise rates for my people who have not been getting water sometimes out of the tap and sometimes not clean water. So just that extra pressure imposed on them (raising the water rates), I will not be voting for it."
Lastly, she said she would like 2024 to see "a cohesive council that prioritizes the citizens over self."
Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes
Fixing the city's crime and homicide problem is the main goal for Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, who represents northwest Jackson.
Jackson's Chief of Police Joseph Wade recently reported the city had its 108th homicide of the year on Dec. 22. This is a welcomed decrease compared to 2022, when the city saw 135 homicide deaths, and 2021, when the city saw a record-setting 155 homicide deaths and the highest per capita murder rate in the nation of about 100 deaths per 100,000 people.
Stokes said the issue needs to continue to be tackled not only for safety reasons, but also it will help with economic development and to "rid the fear that has taken over Jackson."
"One of the reasons why so many businesses and people are leaving Jackson is because people are afraid, can't sit on their porch any longer, can't come out at night," Stokes said. "We need to eliminate the fear that has taken over this city."
More police officers are needed and "any fat" the council can find in the city's budget should be put toward more positions within the Jackson Police Department, Stokes said.
"It will help stabilize the city for people who want to live here and businesses who want to come here. You want to make sure that citizens in this city feel safe," he said. "There's plenty of issues we can talk about, but it's about safety. People deserve to be safe."
Stokes also said the city should focus on getting rid of pawn shops and gun shops in Jackson, which he called "avenues for crime."
Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell
In 2024, Grizzell said he is committed to fostering more private-public partnerships for Ward 4 parks such as Grove Park and Buddy Butts Park.
Grizzell has brought up issues that plague Grove Park for years, but little improvement has been made due to the staff shortages in the city's Department of Parks and Recreation. There are also limited resources in the department's budget, making it hard to service all of the city's 57 parks equally. The department also does not have an official leader since former director Ison Harris resigned in September.
"These (private-public) partnerships will not only ensure these green spaces receive the care they deserve, but will also contribute to the overall quality of life for Ward 4 residents," Grizzell said. "By securing additional resources, we can work towards providing amenities and maintenance levels comparable to those in other parts of our city."
Ward 4 is another area of Jackson that has suffered with the issue of blight and abandoned properties. Grizzell said he will continue to work with the city's planning department to address these properties. Furthermore, he said he plans on bringing the issue to Ward 4's neighborhood associations, which in turn will "help create stronger more cohesive communities that actively contribute to the betterment of our ward."
Lastly, Grizzell said in 2024 he is focused on building up the middle-class in northwest, west and southwest Jackson.
"This involved a multifaceted approach, including improving schools, enhancing transportation services, cleaning up public spaces and promoting local commerce," he said.
Working with local businesses can help with this, Grizzell said. Specifically, he wants to help by facilitating better practices for permitting, so businesses can more easily open shop.
Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley
A big goal for Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley is conquering blight and abandoned properties, which are common throughout neighborhoods in all of Jackson, but especially in west and south Jackson.
Hartley has been at the forefront of trying to figure out how the city can work with the state and other stakeholders to secure funds to try to get a hold on abandoned properties. He floated the idea of putting together some sort of legislative task force of community leaders to talk with state legislators about the matter.
"Aggressively going after the property owners if that's a possibility and getting any funding we can from the state so we can get some sort of maintenance program," Hartley said, adding more responsibility is needed on the state level to help with abandoned properties.
Like Stokes, Hartley is also concerned with the possibility that crime will continue to grip Jackson in 2024. He suggested broadcasting public service announcements in an effort "spread a message" for the public.
"I think we need to start going directly to the public. I'm talking commercials and just a message to remind people to not make a permanent decision over something minor, think it through," Hartley said. "The more that message gets out and resonates, then perhaps we would have a chance of slowing our crime numbers."
Ward 6 Councilman and Council President Aaron Banks
In 2024, Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks, who represents South Jackson, wants to ensure there is enough funding for the Jackson Police Department and Jackson Fire Department. He also wants to make sure both departments' have competitive pay to attract and retain officers and firefighters.
In the summer of 2023, firefighters in the JFD went on strike demanding a "significant" pay raise. Fifty-nine firefighters called out sick in protest one week. The council, with Banks at the helm as Council President after being elected to the position in July, was able to find enough money in the budget for raises for JFD, as well as for JPD.
Banks said he plans on making sure there is enough money set aside in the budget "to clean this city up and keep it clean." He said he would like to create a department of beautification within the city that focuses solely on beautification.
Banks is in agreement with his fellow council members that repaving the city's streets needs to be made an urgent matter in 2024.
"(Let's) Make sure that the money is available to pave streets, pave streets, pave streets and pave streets," Banks said. "Although, we set aside the money it is incumbent upon the mayor and the directors to execute according to the budget he sets."
Lastly, Banks said he wants to create an ordinance that will disallow city workers from taking home city vehicles. This is a way to ensure savings by workers not having to spend extra dollars on gas and "other frivolous spending that does not equal real results that citizens see," Banks said.
Banks tried to bring the ordinance up at previous council meetings, but it was taken off the agenda due to City Attorney Martin saying it may be illegal for the council to direct what workers can and can't do. Banks has countered by saying city property and expenses, such as vehicles, is the responsibility of the council.
Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay
A new, downtown Eudora Welty Library tops Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay's 2024 goals. Lindsay represents east Jackson.
The city's flagship library has been closed since June due to maintenance problems in the building. In September, the city announced plans to demolish the library and sell it to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, who want to use the land to build a green-space. Lindsay has vocally been a big supporter of the project.
At the council's Dec. 19 meeting, Lindsay, along with four other council members, approved the transfer of the Eudora Welty Library building and property to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
"It is going to be an amazing front door to the two museums, which is a huge, huge draw to the City of Jackson and the state of Mississippi," Lindsay said at the meeting.
She said the city should consider looking into reusing an existing building for the new library, instead of building a new one.
Lindsay also said she would like to see street and drainage improvements in Ward 7, as well as improvements to parks such as Belhaven Park, Laurel Street Park and Belhaven Heights Park.
"I'm anxious for a parks director to be appointed so we can address issues in our parks throughout my ward," Lindsay said.
The city has been without a permanent director overseeing the Department of Parks and Recreation since September after Ison Harris resigned from the job.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS City Council share priorities for 2024
