Supervisors approve industrial tax exemptions and address other county business (6-15-2026)
Seated left to right:
- Chandler Rogers – Board attorney
- County Administrator
- Annette Hickey – Chancery Clerk
- C. J. Bright -3rd District Supervisor
- Steve Watson – 5th District Supervisor
- Chad Coffey – 2nd District Supervisor
- Sam Taylor – 1st District Supervisor
- Randy Owen – 4th District Supervisor
You can view a copy of the agenda by clicking here and find a 22-minute video of the meeting below, courtesy of our videographer Kim Davis.
Agenda items
All agenda items were approved with minimal discussion. Points of interest include:
(Timestamp 3:30) Agenda items 1a-1e were approved with minimal discussion. In the final item, the board amended the county contract with Looks Great Services of Mississippi from a maximum dollar amount of $5,000,000.00 to a maximum dollar amount of $7,500,000.00. This is in connection to clean up from the ice storm earlier this year.
(Timestamp 4:12) The board approved the Governor’s proclamation for the July 4 holiday, to be observed on July 3.
(Timestamp 4:57) The board reviewed bids for contracts SAP-73(8)M and SAP-73(9) for county engineering services.
Three bids were received for SAP-73(8)M: Falcon Contracting of Columbus, MS, bid $430,640; Double T Construction of Holly Springs bid $447,804; Gregory Company of Tupelo bid $447,969.
There were also three bids for SAP-73(9): Falcon Contracting bid $2,264,050.08; Vance Brothers of Conway, Arkansas, bid $2,327,355.82; JM Duncan of Ripley bid $2,578,854.74.
The two lower bids from Falcon Contracting were accepted.
(Timestamp 11:38) The board revied a contract for 24 bulletproof vests for the Sheriff’s Department costing $28,104 total. The federal Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) Program will reimburse $11,000 of that amount. These vests are only good for 5 years and need to be replaced. Board members joked that maybe Board President CJ Bright should have one of the old ones but did not elaborate as to why.
Industrial Tax exemptions
(Timestamp 14:32) Tax assessor presented industrial exemptions for approval in response to requests for specific tax exemptions based on existing statutes and board policy. Tax assessor’s office recommended property tax exemptions for:
- Albany Industries in the amount of $5,698,429;
- Blue Springs Metals in the amount of $22,271,073;
- Clover Leaf Foam and Fiber in the amount of $1,081, 796;
- Diversity Vuteq on Munsford Drive in the amount of $7,925,211;
- Dunn Utility Products in the amount of $11,565,248
- Homestead Furniture in the amount of $401,163;
- Jackson Furniture Industries in the amount of $2,117,657;
- Metal Impact in the amount of $6,279,229;
- Process Equipment Services at Magnolia Way in the amount of $318,891;
- Process Equipment Services on Corolla Lane in the amount of $1,467,548;
- VIP Luxury Seating in the amount of $4,268,444.
The tax assessor did not recommend exemptions for these businesses, either because the requested exemptions did not meet the board’s minimum threshold, or the request was for items that are not eligible for exemptions:
- Diversity Vuteq on Magnolia Way in the amount of $21,000;
- Green Metals on Corolla Ln, Blue Springs in the amount of $32,000;
- Green Metals on Magnolia Way in the amount of $6,830;
- Sugaree’s Bakery in the amount of $53,000 for finished goods
The board approved and disapproved exemptions based the tax assessor’s recommendation. The board then moved to executive session and will reconvene on Monday, July 6, 2026.
