Votes at a glance: Rankin County supervisors approve permits, plats, hearings and routine county business

The Rankin County Board of Supervisors approved a series of routine and project-related items July 7, including authorizations for a tax sale publication, a mobile-home tax refund, planning-related public hearings and multiple administrative permits and construction authorizations.

Highlights of votes and actions the board approved at the meeting include the following (motions passed by recorded "aye" votes unless noted):

- Authority to publish notice twice for the Rankin County 2024 tax sale to be held Aug. 25, 2025, and to publish a separate notification for an online auction format. Motion made and carried.

- Authorization to void and refund mobile-home taxes incorrectly assessed on a parcel (account 27149) and to refund $1,268.05 for 2023 and 2024 mobile-home taxes. Motion made and carried.

- Petitions and assessment adjustments presented by the tax assessor’s office (homestead exemption supplemental roll adjustments and changes to 2020–2023 assessments where personal property had been misclassified as real property). Motions to approve the adjustments carried.

- Setting public hearings: a hearing for a conditional-use permit for Emma Boone at 935 Highway 469 North was set for July 31 at 9 a.m.; a hearing for R & J Construction Inc.’s mining operation on Rankin Road was set for August 2025 at 9 a.m. (day not specified in the record). The assessor’s office also requested that the 2025 real and personal property assessment rules be published and that written objections be accepted at a public hearing on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, at 9 a.m.; the board approved those steps.

- Land-use action: final plat approval for Sandhill Farms. Supervisors recognized Paul Hopper and John Williams for cooperation on the project.

- Permits and administrative changes: the board voted to approve a batch of utility permits (vote recorded as 3–0) and to add future routine utility-permit approvals to the consent agenda so they will be approved unless a supervisor pulls an item for discussion.

- Emergency management: the board authorized the board president to sign the county’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, noting the plan and the county sheltering plan are required to support the county’s EMPG (Emergency Management Performance Grant) funding.

- Public works and facilities actions: the board authorized advertisement for sealed bids to sell three replaced fire trucks; approved signing a large-construction notice of intent for Florence Byron Parkway for coverage under the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality large construction stormwater general permit; and authorized advertisement of bids for courtroom renovations at the county building.

- Administrative approvals: the board approved routine consent-agenda items and old minutes earlier in the meeting.

- Executive session: the board voted to go into executive session to discuss potential litigation, potential acquisition and purchase of real property, and potential economic development matters.

Most motions were seconded and carried on unanimous "aye" votes as recorded in the meeting. Several items were presented by departmental staff: Dana Tucker (chief deputy tax collector) spoke for the tax-collection items; Christy Lewis represented Stacy McNich of the tax assessor’s office on assessment matters; Bridal Grantham, the county’s emergency management director, presented the emergency-management plan; and Tim Parker, the county engineer, presented the Sandhill Farms plat and public-works items.

The board did not record any public petitions during the meeting’s bond public hearing and closed that hearing before later adopting the bond-resolution actions described in a separate article.