MOSS POINT, Miss. (WLOX) – During Thursday night’s State of the City address, Moss Point Mayor Billy Knight spoke about “hard truths” about his city.
Despite the progress the River City has made since the Juneteenth tornado, Moss Point is facing a $2 million deficit in 2023.
In 40 years, the city has lost almost half its inhabitants, from 25,000 in 1986 to just 13,300 in 2024. During this time, the city also lost four major companies, including Halter Marine.
In 2014, the city spent $8.5 million on 7,371 water meters, but only received 6,571. By 2016, most had stopped working, the mayor said, and a lawsuit against the meters is currently underway.
As a result, the city has collected an estimated 75% of its water meter fees, a $7 million loss in revenue. Now the mayor is calling for contracts, including for garbage collection and water systems, to be rebid to get the city back on track.
Mayor Knight also said the city needs to “find jobs” and “businesses are moving to other cities.” To solve this problem, he is focusing on economic development of the downtown area with mixed-use projects and promoting commercial and residential development along Highways 63 and 613 around I-10.
The city has already attracted two car dealerships and a tractor supply store and plans to invest $21 million in infrastructure around the highway.
“This didn’t happen overnight, and we’re not going to get out of it overnight,” the mayor told WLOX News. “We can’t get out of this situation unless we recognize that we have a problem. We can’t deny that we don’t have a problem. This problem has been building for 30, 40 years. I’m here now to try to solve it. You start with what you have. You start with what you can do, and other things will come. If you build it, they will come.”
Beyond the difficult situation Moss Point finds itself in, many positive aspects were highlighted, including handing over the keys to the city to brilliant minds from the River City.
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