Madison Co. mayor gives State of the County address at First Friday Forum

JACKSON, Tenn. — Local leaders give their annual addresses focusing on issues that will affect Jackson and Madison County.

Madison County Mayor Jimmy Harris was one of the featured speakers at the First Friday Forum. Harris gave his State of the County address and talked about many of the issues affecting the county, including the need for building a new jail.

“We got 523 total inmates — 397 of those in CJC — so that meant we have 94 people sleeping on the floor,” Harris said. “The completion of the expansion of the jail, we will be somewhere around 523 beds.”

The mayor says he hopes groundbreaking on the new jail soon will begin soon.

Another topic he addressed was economic development including the county’s debt.

“When I took office in 2007, the county debt was $68 million. In the last few years up to this day, we paid $43 million of that debt,” Harris said.

Harris also invited Jackson-Madison County Schools Superintendent Eric Jones to speak at Friday’s forum regarding the goals for the school system in 2019.

“We’ve got a lot in the works, our schools and a jail expansion and different things like that, so we got a lot on our plate,” Harris said. “But you know, I think 2019 will be a good year for all of us.”

In addition to Superintendent Jones, Jackson Mayor Jerry Gist also spoke at the First Friday Forum.