Columbus, Miss. (The Commercial Dispatch) – From the start, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has been clear on what the priorities should be for the combined $2 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds provided to the state and local governments: Infrastructure. Infrastructure. Infrastructure.
Although Congress passed the $1.9-trillion package in March 2021, cities and counties have been waiting on the Legislature to determine how the state will use its $1.8 billion portion of the funding. Local governments in the state received $268 million, but many of those hoped the money they received directly could be combined with state ARPA funds to dramatically increase the scope of local projects.
When Congress passed ARPA, the Mississippi Legislature was nearing the end of its 2021 session and there were no real discussions in either chamber about how those state ARPA funds would be spent. Almost immediately after the session ended, Hosemann began visiting Mississippi cities to talk about those funds. During his visit to Columbus in April, Hosemann said, “What is most important for each of us is that we don’t make (those decisions) for a year, but for a generation.”
This week, the Senate revealed its plans for how the state funds will be allocated. Not surprisingly, those plans align closely with Hosemann’s views.
The Senate plan provides money for a range of state agencies and programs, but the largest single appropriation — $750 million — is devoted to matching funds for water and sewer infrastructure.
The House will unveil its own plans for state ARPA funds later in the session, so the final plan may ultimately deviate from what the Senate released this week.
Previously, some cities and counties had hoped to receive state matching funds for projects other than water/sewer. Starkville, for example, initially hoped the state would supplement its ARPA funding for improvements to city parks. If the Senate’s “water/sewer only” plan prevails, that obviously won’t happen.
The Starkville Board of Aldermen, anticipating that those state matching funds might not apply to its parks plan, have pulled back on their earlier decision to allocate most of its $6.2 million to parks and will now explore other options that could attract matching state funds.
Cities and counties that have already committed funds for non-water/sewer infrastructure may have to alter those plans as well.
Waiting to see what the state decides is a wise decision.
Although the Senate’s plan would only allow matching funds for a narrow scope of projects, we understand the logic.
Matching state funds will amplify the local funds earmarked for infrastructure, and could provide amounts of money that will allow local leaders to finally tackle aging — and expensive — infrastructure projects.
Hosemann’s insistence that we take the long view of how those funds should be spent is wise and forward-looking since we are not likely to see this kind of funding again.
We have one shot to get it right. Any plan to address only immediate needs, with no thought of the future is, quite literally, short-sighted.
That includes bonuses and incentives for public employees.