The Jones County Board of Supervisors called a special meeting Thursday morning at the Magnolia Center to glean input from area truckers and other business leaders involved in transporting goods through the county. The supervisors are contemplating mandating permits for vehicles carrying loads that exceed 40,000 pounds.
“We’re not here making rules today,” opened Board President Johnny Burnett. “We are searching for information, looking for your help in making a decision that will affect every one of our lives.”
“We’re not here to hurt anybody trying to make a living,” added Beat 2 Supervisor Larry Dykes. “We need some help on the roads.”
Beat 3 Supervisor Phil Dickerson said the board was considering issuing the permits “to let us know where y’all are in our community.” Dickerson said big trucks and other heavy equipment often tear up county roadways or right-aways and “we don’t have a clue who did it. I know y’all pay enough taxes and fees through MDOT. We’re not here to hurt you.”
If the permit requirement for heavy haulers is adopted, the process would likely require a trucker, or a company operating big equipment in Jones County, to file a request at the courthouse for a permit and then await approval from the supervisor over the district in which the trucker intends to route through. If the request for a permit is approved, the supervisor would recommend a route for the trucker. The permit would last one year under one proposal the board is currently considering; another stipulation is that the truck operator would have to present a certificate of liability insurance to the county.
Several independent truckers, along with representatives from companies or associations representing heavy haulers, addressed the supervisors. Nearly all of them expressed a desire to cooperate with the supervisors in preventing damage to the county’s roads, but there was also deep concern that harsh requirements could greatly dampen an already ailing economy.
David Livingston of the Mississippi Loggers Association noted that approximately 45 percent of counties south of I-20 have some type of a permit system. He said one county has an officer whose full-time job is to police the roads to make sure haulers are using the routes they are given and not using roads they shouldn’t travel on.
“If you have a bad apple, you address the bad apple, not the whole industry. You eliminate putting the burden on the legitimate person who is trying to do the right thing,” he said. He asked the supervisors to report loggers who use inconsistent practices to the association, which will address the situation in an effort to support the supervisors and the state’s economy.
“It (economy) is solely built on timber and agriculture and farming. It’s what the state’s whole economy is built on,” he stated. “From our experiences in the past with counties that have stricter policies, they don’t sell timber in those counties. If you go to restricting the timber business and the poultry industry and the oil industry and different industries like that, Jones County shrivels up and dies. We’re here to help but just know that if you assess something that is overbearing and you get that tag on your county, you’re done. You’re gonna kill the landowner and the value of the land and everything else for the landowner and taxpayer and all the revenue that comes into the county from outside sources.”
Hal Miller, president of the Mississippi Trucking Association, told the supervisors that he wanted them to know that “we’re on the same team. Our association has been fighting for several years to get additional funding for infrastructure. Obviously without good roads we’re in big trouble.
“What I’m hearing from my members who are based essentially here in Jones County is that there seems to be a lot of unknowns, where this is headed, and what will be required,” added Miller, who said most of his members are over the road companies. “Really it’s the unknowns that we’ve got the biggest concern about. We’re looking forward to learning more about what the thought process is and what you may be doing.”
Mark Leggett, president of the Mississippi Poultry Association, reminded the group that there are 158 poultry farms, three processing plants, and the national headquarters of a poultry company in Jones County. One farm generates about 200 truck trips a year, he pointed out.
According to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Mississippi ranks No. 5 in the United States in broiler production, producing more than 756 million broilers. In 2019, Mississippi had 1,237 poultry farms, and the production value of poultry in 2019 was $2.62 billion. The leading counties for poultry production are Scott, Smith, Leake, Simpson, Jones, Neshoba and Wayne.
“We would see a permit as a regulatory burden, more paperwork that we would have to do,” he said.
Russell Walters, a local resident who has trucking interests in the poultry and oilfield industries, said he has concerns about insurance premiums rising due to potential litigation being involved in disputes between companies and the county over damaged roads, especially as it relates to video evidence of damaged roads.
“If my truck is running down this road and somebody takes a picture, and then takes a picture of a damaged road, is my insurance company going to get sued, my trucking company?” Walters asked.
“That’s why were here today, to get information from y’all,” responded Burnett. “We’ll look at that information and when we come up with a decision, it will be something that will work for everybody.”
“That’s something you will definitely get kickback on,” Walters replied. “We’re getting litigated from all corners. If we get counties coming at our insurance now . . . insurance costs are going up every year, and it’s a problem.”
Some of the strongest remarks of the morning came from the Beat 2 Supervisor of Jasper County, Sandy Stephens, who said he deals with the issue of damaged roads in his district as well, but he warned his counterparts in Jones County that hindering the loggers’ business will upset not only the loggers but also the landowners.
“I’m just gonna tell you this: I’ve been there, this is my third term, and sometimes it takes not saying nothing,” stated Stephens. “Just fix your roads and go on.
“You be rough on your landowners and your voters, and you’ll be a one-term supervisor. That’s all I’ve got to say,” added Stephens.
Other speakers urged the supervisors to lobby for infrastructure money from the state’s lottery funds and to exercise caution as they move toward a final decision on the permit requirement, because mandates that are too restrictive could not only harm industry already operating here but also hinder more companies from locating to Jones County.