Mayor AJ Massey talks about county’s debt, approach to issues
MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. – The Greater Jackson Chamber annual breakfast took place Friday at the Carl Grant Event Center at Union University.
Madison County Mayor AJ Massey, who has been in office 519 days as of Friday, stated that we are going to have a “round bottom bucket” mentality in Madison County.
“I had plenty of issues that arrived on my desk that I have zero ability to fix. We’re gonna pass that bucket, and we’re gonna pass that bucket until the fire is put out,” Massey said.
Massey began to speak of the positive changes in Madison County.
“Our fiscal year ended on June 30th, and I’m proud to say that we came about $3 million under budget. It was actually 2.969 million under budget and what that is is our county departments effectively managing the money that was budgeted to them,” Massey said.
Massey stated that the county debt is also moving in the right direction
“Our annual debt service pay above and beyond is $13 million. So we’re knocking our county debt down by 13 million a year. So we’re moving in the right direction there,” Massey said.
Massey stated the changes that were made at schools ensure the safety of the children.
“So we were able to fund 32 school resource officers. We should have two at each high school. Majority middle schools should have two, and at least one at every elementary school with a few floaters to fill in in the back,” Massey said.
Jackson State Community College’s campus was also discussed for having the approval this year of a $37 million Workforce Development Center.
“That’s been in the works for several years, and we finally got that allocation this year. So Jackson State will have an opportunity for local industries to put equipment on-site at Jackson State where individuals, adults, and young learners can come in and work on equipment, get certifications, and be able to walk into the workforce,” Massey said.
Massey also spoke about Pope Elementary School, located on Ashport Road.
The new Pope School is expected to open in 2025 and is estimated to house 1,250 students.
This is a $48 million project, but Massey stated that it is not all the school will entail.
“It also included a $4.2 million county safe room. So now if you live in the north part of the county, you’re not going to have to make it out to the airport or another safe room in the community. You’ll have a large enough safe room to go there if you don’t have it at your own house,” Massey said.
Middle Fork Bottoms Park was also mentioned as a state park that Gov. Bill Lee allocated to Madison County last year.
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