Rankin County denies two tax‑exemption requests from Crossgates Baptist Church

The Rankin County Board of Supervisors voted March 2 to deny two tax‑exemption requests from Crossgates Baptist Church for residential properties, citing longstanding county discretion over exemptions and concern about allowing multiple tax‑exempt residences for one nonprofit.

Kathy Wolf, identified at the meeting as the church’s business administrator, described the intended use of one property as missionary housing. Board members reviewed the applicable statute at a policy level and said the county has broad discretion to determine the scope of exemptions for charitable organizations. Several supervisors expressed concern that allowing multiple residential exemptions for a single exempt organization could shift public tax burdens to other taxpayers.

“My motion is going to be to deny for tax exemption being they already have one,” one supervisor said before the board voted to deny the first request; a subsequent, similar motion denied the second request. The record shows motions carried by voice vote; the transcript did not include roll‑call tallies.

Board members asked staff to inventory existing church‑owned properties and consider a formal policy statement limiting residential exemptions for charities, noting past practice usually recognizes a primary house of worship and, in some cases, one residential property associated with ministerial activities.

The specific parcels cited in the discussion included 12 Hunters Point (PPIN22536) for the 2025 year and 16 Huntsman Circle for 2026; the transcript records motions to deny both exemption requests.