# Morning Brief: Sep 30 · Jackson's $337M Budget Starts Thursday With a $23M Hole

> Jackson's fiscal 2027 budget takes effect Thursday with flat millage and a projected shortfall the administration puts between $23 million and $36 million.

*General News · By Jackson Wire Staff · September 30, 2026*

## 1. Jackson's $337M budget takes effect Thursday

Jackson's $337 million budget for fiscal 2027 takes effect Thursday, Oct. 1, carrying a general fund of about $113 million and a projected revenue shortfall the administration has put between $23 million and $36 million. The council adopted the spending plan Sept. 11 on a 5-1 vote, Mississippi Today reported, after approving a flat millage rate of 63.03 mills in early September. Chief Administrative Officer Pieter Teeuwissen told WLBT the city is 'not voting for a tax increase this year.' Public Works faces roughly an $8 million cut from its $22 million budget, and Director Lorenzo Anderson told the council he has 2,300 open work orders and 15 people in the paving division covering 1,100 miles of streets.

## 2. Jackson sales tax diversions up 9.5 percent

Jackson collected $2,612,443 in sales tax diversions in August, up 9.5 percent from $2,385,899 a year earlier, according to the Department of Revenue's newest diversion report. The city's fiscal-year-to-date total is $5,328,637, up 6.0 percent. The metro picture is uneven. Ridgeland jumped 23.7 percent to $1,611,884, and Byram rose 20.9 percent, while Pearl fell 8.6 percent to $1,166,022 and Canton slipped 2.1 percent. Pearl's fiscal-year-to-date collections are down 10.5 percent, the steepest decline among the larger metro cities. Diversions track point-of-sale activity rather than assessed values, which makes them the closest thing to a monthly economic indicator for each municipality.

## 3. Amazon Canton data center permit still pending

Amazon's data center at the Madison Mega Site in Canton is seeking a renewed Title V air permit, and the state's permit record shows the application is still pending. MDEQ acknowledged receipt of the Title V application on June 29, 2026, and a draft construction permit modification drew a public comment period that closed Aug. 24. The facility, listed at 1978 Highway 22 in Canton, has held air construction permits since December 2024. Title V is the operating permit tier for major sources, so the pending application is the document to watch for any change in the plant's permitted emissions. The Madison County board meets Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 9 a.m.

## 4. Federal money lands in Hinds County this week

Federal awards with performance in Hinds County start this week. Paramount Construction Group won a $14,522,650 Veterans Affairs contract starting Sept. 30 to build a community living center at the G.V. Sonny Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson, and Simmons & Golden Security holds a $1,320,138 Homeland Security award starting Oct. 1 for protective security officer services statewide. Midtown Partners received a $486,000 Community Economic Development grant from the Administration for Children and Families, also starting Sept. 30, to expand three existing enterprises. Separately, the Mississippi Department of Transportation passed through $50,000 for reconstruction of McCluer Road at Cany Creek Tributary, a bridge project in Hinds County.

## 5. Three county boards meet, two close the books

Three county boards meet Wednesday, and two are closing their books. Hinds County holds a Year End Closeout session Sept. 30, with an agenda posted as a scanned PDF. Madison County's board takes up final budget amendments for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, awards construction and commodity term bids, and approves the Lost Rabbit URD fiscal 2026 payment. Rankin County's board is scheduled to act on ad valorem tax exemption resolutions for Nucor Steel Jackson, International Paper, Wayne-Sanderson Farms, and Trilogy Communications, after the Department of Revenue certified the requests as eligible. Rankin also set nuisance-property hearings for Sept. 30 and conditional use permit hearings for Oct. 5.

---
[The Jackson Wire](https://www.thejacksonwire.com/) · [Read on the web](https://www.thejacksonwire.com/article/morning-brief-2026-09-30)