Residents worried about a proposed Rankin County data center urged the Board of Supervisors Planning Commission on Nov. 26 to demand firm answers from utilities and developers about likely impacts on local water and power systems.

Leighton Garth, who said she lives in Crossgates and brought a petition of neighbors, told commissioners that while she welcomes the potential property-tax revenue, the community needs protections against higher utility bills and environmental harms. "I don't want my family and my neighbors' families to subsidize those projects for the benefit of a multimillion dollar company," Garth said, adding that the petition had "over 1,020 signatures as of yesterday." She said utilities she contacted would not tell her whether rates would rise once the data center operates.

Garth outlined two main concerns: that utilities will expand infrastructure for the center and pass the cost to customers, and that data centers' high, constant demand can drive up rates and strain grids during heat waves. She also cited state legislation she said exempts certain utilities sold to data centers from sales taxation (identified in testimony as "Senate Bill 227") and asked how lost tax revenue would be replaced.

Nathan Reister, who helped start the petition, read comments submitted online and recounted residents' fears that the facility's power and cooling demands could push up bills and undermine housing affordability. "This technology scares people," Reister said, and he urged commissioners to perform "due diligence" so Rankin does not experience the same post‑construction price shocks some communities cited in testimony reported.

County staff and commissioners told speakers they had contacted utilities but had not received definitive figures about the project's energy or water requirements during the outreach described by Garth. Commissioners did not take regulatory action at the meeting; the public comments were recorded during the public-comment period.

Next steps: residents asked the board to seek clear, written commitments from Entergy and the water provider and to ensure any tax exemptions are understood and mitigated. The board did not announce a timeline for follow-up at the Nov. 26 session.