This past week I along with fellow mayors attended the Mississippi Municipal League’s legislative meeting at North Central Planning and Development office in Winona. This was concerning the upcoming 2025 session with initiatives important to municipalities.
As the Legislature begins the January will be the 2025 Mississippi Municipal League Mid-Winter Legislative Conference in Jackson. Through the years when I attended the winter conference it has always been very informative with the MML legislative agenda. Each year consists of proposals for the legislature that are important to cities in towns across this state. Over the years when the MML initiated proposals during the winter meeting they got attention. MML would hold a rally when visiting the capitol and legislators were very gracious to us and willing to listen to our efforts. Public works with investments in infrastructure are vital to a town and county. One of the priorities of MML is continued funding of the emergency road and bridge repair fund.
Through the years here in Carroll County we have had several declarations during disasters that the county and towns have received federal funding to repair infrastructure. This has been worthy investments to build back better. When thinking about investments in public works projects like what will be discussed for funding at the MML conference I think back to the seventies. Back then was when my uncle Hester McCluskey worked for the Carroll County Board of Supervisors as a foreman for the bridge crew, in those days growing up here my earliest memories where when the county built and repaired a lot of roads and bridges that lasted a long time. Just like in the old days it's true today with keeping infrastructure up to date is a constant task.
Last week in Winona at North Central Planning during the legislative meeting when discussing the initiatives for 2025, I left with optimism for the future and the opportunities communities will have across this state. These efforts, like the good work over past decades, will carry on not just for a year or two but for a generation or two.
Ken Strachan serves as the mayor of North Carrollton and is a member of the Mississippi Municipal League board of directors.
