County elected officials from throughout Mississippi’s Second Congressional District reflected on their leadership responsibilities and learned how to pursue and capture an array of state and federal government resources for their communities at a special conference hosted by Second District Congressional Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D) at Co-Lin last month.
In workshops and breakout sessions during the morning of February 20 at the college’s Thames Center, speakers and panelists from state and federal agencies advised county administrators, sheriffs, supervisors and Chancery Clerks on culling resources for housing, community and economic development, managing immigration issues, emergency assistance, facilities and property management, training, transportation and roads and law enforcement, among other community needs.
Speakers stressed two main themes: interaction and involvement with agencies that are the source of resources and building relationships with them. In addition, they focused on effective leadership -- being reachable, knowledgeable and accountable, and a visionary and communicator in touch with community and citizen needs.
Sheriff Travis L. Patten, the youngest elected in Adams County and first African American since reconstruction, Jefferson County Administrator Brenda Turner-Buck, who was active in community and economic development for 30 years before her retirement, and Philip West, Vice President of the Natchez-Adams School Board of Trustees and an advocate of equal opportunity and equal justice under law for 58 years, moderated the sessions focused on environment and health, transportation and infrastructure, law enforcement and public safety and economic and community development.
More than 30 speakers headlined the event, including Representative Thompson, Co-Lin President Dr. Dewayne Middleton and state and federal agency representatives:
Environment & health. Taaka Scott Bailey (Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality), Chris Thomas (Environmental Protection Agency), Dr. Danie Edney (Mississippi Department of Health) and Clayton French (Mississippi Emergency Management Agency).
Transportation & infrastructure. Willie Simmons (Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) Central District Commissioner), John Caldwell (MDOT Northern District Commissioner), Dr. Keither Stamps (Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) Central District Commissioner), Brad White (MDOT) and Katie Funderburk (Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM)),
Law enforcement & public safety. Marshay Lawson (U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)), Kyle Smith (United States Secret Service (USSS)), Joshua Jackson (U.S. DOJ Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), Anessa Daniels-McCaw (U.S. DOJ Department of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)), Mark Shepherd (U.S. Marshal Service), Ragan Lewis (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)), Nicole Lemacks (U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)), Anthony Acocella (Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC)), Kara Spadaccini (Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)) and Ray Sims (Mississippi Department of Public Safety & Public Safety Planning).
Economic & community development. Milton Cochran (Economic Development Administration), Dr. Trina George (U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD)), Jason Shelton (U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)), Nicole Alexander (Mississippi Department of Finance & Administration, Office of Surplus Property), Dr. Corey Wiggins (Delta Regional Authority (DRA)), Baxter Kruger (Mississippi Office of Homeland Security (MOHS)), Janeiro Smith (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)), Wirt Peterson (Southwest Planning and Development District), Chuck Carr (Central Mississippi Planning and Development District), Jenifer Buford (East Central Planning and Development District), Sam Mozee, Jr. (Mississippi Urban Research Center, Jackson State University (MURC)) and Ty James (National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA)).
In their focus on leadership, the speakers discussed what county governing boards need to do to be successful, telling elected members to:
Understand their statutory authority.
Have current audits, and be current on federal tax and Social Security Trust Fund filings and payments.
Maintain a record-keeping system.
Require employee training, certifications or licensing.
Attend training for elected officials and participate in continued learning opportunities.
Update and maintain a strategic plan.
Understand the operations and roles of departments under their supervision.
Assure that contracted professionals are qualified.
Build a support team for themselves and help grow the county.
For government officials seeking grants, they recommended:
Signing up and opting in at web sites -- Grants.gov, Delta Regional Authority, Federal Register -- for newsletters, updates and announcements relevant to your interests.
Subscribing to web feeds that provide aggregated information from a variety of sources via email.
Maintaining electronic or hard copy files of communications from funders relevant to your interests.
Utilizing search engines, such as Google, to identify funding sources and track their funding cycle, programs and project areas, amount of funding and locations or regions services.
Conference participants left with a guide and resource directory that is also available online at https://benniethompson.house.gov.