Photo of a blighted property in Jackson, MS (by Daniel Tyson | Magnolia Tribune)
- Mississippi’s capital city has roughly 25 percent of the state’s total abandoned properties.
The Mississippi Legislature is looking for ways to end blight in the state.
On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee passed a House bill that would create tax incentives for developers to redevelop blighted properties.
“There are properties all over the state that are blighted, that are tax defaulted and fall deeper and deeper into blight because the state will never be able to maintain these properties. So, we’re trying to do something to address that,” said Committee Chairman Senator Josh Harkins (R), noting the properties are not only an eyesore, but a “drain” on the Magnolia State.
HB 1201 provides tax incentives for developers to redevelop residential and commercial properties. The bill gives a state tax credit of upwards of 25 percent on eligible rehabilitation projects and a 75 percent tax credit as a rebate. A maximum of $50,000 is set for residential properties and $100,000 for commercial sites.
A provision of the bill states that developers cannot claim the incentives until the home is sold to an individual or the commercial space is leased or sold.
Harkins said there are other measures elected officials are trying to work out with the Secretary of State’s office on the bill, asking for a reverse repealer to be added as those discussions continue.
“We’ll continue working on it, but it is a good start in trying to address some of the issues on blighted properties around our state,” he said.
Mississippi’s capital city has the highest rate of blighted properties in the state. The city of Jackson alone has 25 percent or more than 1,800 of the roughly 7,000 such properties in the state. Jackson’s blighted property is a headache for the city’s elected officials.
READ MORE: City of Jackson has nearly a quarter of Mississippi’s abandoned properties
“It would begin with public safety itself, and that’s really one of the key reasons that people choose to abandon their properties and leave is because they don’t feel safe,” Ward 1 City Councilman Ashby Foote told Magnolia Tribune last September.
Two bills to address Jackson’s eyesores died in the House.
Earlier this year, the Secretary of State announced that Jackson turned down millions in funding to fight blight.
Secretary Michael Watson said Mayor Chokwe Lumumba’s office turned down between $10 million and $13 million from the federal Blight Elimination Program because the city would not control the funds. The funds would have helped offset the cost of demolishing blighted properties.
Lumumba denied Watson’s claims, calling it conjecture and saying the issue is not a priority for the city.
As for the latest legislative effort to address blighted properties, the unamended House Bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
Daniel Tyson
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