The Pearl River County Board of Supervisors met Wednesday and discussed several ways to improve clean up around the county.

Board President Sandy Kane Smith said there have been reports of excessive litter at Wolf River Park due to a lack of trashcans.

He proposed the county look into placing garbage cans on the new nature trails and work with the litter crew to service them.

The Board held a public hearing during the meeting to discuss the preliminary plat for the Kingsmill Subdivision to be built off Williamsburg Road in Picayune.

The subdivision will consist of 71 individual houses on small lots. It will have privately paid roads with curb and gutter streets, said Lumpkin.

The project began eight or nine years ago and was originally intended to be a mobile home park, said Lumpkin.

County Engineer Les Dungan’s request to pass an inspection agreement with the state was approved by the Board.

The agreement states that 90 bridges in the county will be inspected this year, to be paid for by state aid funds.

A grant from the Mississippi Development Authority will allow the county road department to fix the sinkhole on Poplarville’s Main Street.

The $175,000 grant will be enough to fund the project, said Dungan.

Supervisor Hudson Holliday proposed to make contractors on the project work 24 hours a day until completion, with coordination from local police to direct traffic.

Holliday also proposed the Board to offer a financial reward to contractors if they finish the job early and a penalty for finishing late.

The Board also discussed the recent tax assessment increases. Adrain Lumpkin, the county administrator, said the public has until August 1 to submit written objections to their new assessment values.

The Board passed an acknowledgement that the tax assessor’s office had equally appraised the county property values.

The Board has until September 15 to finalize next year’s budget and set the millage, said Smith.

The matter will be discussed further at the next Board meeting scheduled for August 1.

The Board asks residents with questions or concerns to attend the meeting.

At the end of the meeting, Holliday also suggested the Board host a town hall style meeting to discuss the county’s budget and speak with residents about how the revenue can be used in next year’s budget.

“There are a lot of issues out there that the public just doesn’t know,” said Holliday.

The discussion stemmed from a debate between Board members about the tax revenue the county receives from property taxes and fees, and the tax revenue the state receives from sales taxes.

District II Supervisor Malcolm Perry said that only 28 percent of the taxes county residents pay go into the Board’s general fund.

“There’s no telling how much tax leaves counties and never comes back,” said Lumpkin.

In other news, the Board:

• Approved a request from Pearl River County Sheriff David Allison to sign a grant application that would cover one officer’s pay as well as $15,000 worth of overtime to work DUI cases.
• Finalized documents from the Department of Public Safety for a VOCA 2015-2016 grant.
• Approved commissions for the November 1 Election Commissioner election. District V is the only contested seat.
• Approved the establishment of two family cemeteries: The Brown Family Cemetery and the Berry Family Cemetery.
• Is still reviewing proposals for the new phone system.

The next board meeting will be held August 1 at 9 a.m.