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Mississippi

The Rural Context For Transportation Consultations

Mississippi is the 31st largest state in the U.S. in land area, 31st largest in population, and 31st most densely populated. Approximately 79 percent of Mississippi's population and jobs, and 99 percent of the land, is non-urban. About 92 percent of its roads are rural. Federally owned lands amount to 5 percent of the state's land area.

Mississippi is a slowly growing state, as measured by population, with a significantly growing rate of employment. The portion of the state's jobs that are in the uniquely rural agriculture and mining sectors is small (4 and 1 percent, respectively). Most jobs in Mississippi's rural areas are in sectors also common in urban areas: construction, transportation & utilities (13 percent); manufacturing (26 percent); business & trade (23 percent); and services & government (32 percent).

Demographically, Mississippi's non-urban population is predominately white (63 percent) with a significant portion of African Americans (36 percent). Compared to other states, Mississippi has the 7th highest proportion of non-urban adults who did not graduate from high school and the 4th lowest proportion who did graduate from college. The 26 percent of Mississipppi's non-urban people who are poor is higher than all other states. About 44 percent of the state's non-urban population is in non-working age groups (31 percent 18 years or younger, and 13 percent 65 years or older).

Governmentally, Mississippi has 82 counties, an average number compared to other states. The state also has 295 municipalities,but no towns or townships. This ranks it about in the middle (29th highest) in terms of the number of sub-county governments. Mississippi also has one federally recognized Indian tribe.

In addition, the 1997 U.S. Census of Governments has identified 8 independent, special-purpose governments in Mississippi that have transportation responsibilities. This number is lower than in many other states. These special-purpose governments include five for airports, 2 for water trasnport, and 1 for transit. Mississippi also has 16 other public transit providers serving rural areas and an additional 19 organizations that provide specialized transit services to elderly and disabled populations in those same areas.

Mississippi has 11 regional councils that cover approximately 100 percent of the state, and 3 MPOs. These regional units help to coordinate the other local governments and play a role in rural transportation programs as described below.

Of Mississippi's 72,795 miles of roads, approximately 14 percent are state-controlled, while just over one percent are federal. Of the total miles of non-federal rural roads, 15 percent are state, 81 percent are county, 4 percent are township, and none are municipal and other.

Processes For Consultation And Cooperation With Local Officials In Non-Metropolitan Areas

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) conducts transportation planning under the guidance of the Mississippi Transportation Commission. MDOT has 6 districts, each with a district engineer. There are also regional planning and development districts in the state which are involved in transportation planning, but have no official responsibilities in that area. Before TEA-21, public participation in transportation planning was achieved primarily by obtaining public comments on the STIP and public hearings on specific projects. Since passage of TEA-21, the state is developing new procedures, including steps to more directly involve local elected officials.

The STIP consists of a 3-year transportation construction program. It includes transportation-related projects that the MDOT, MPOs, cities, counties, Indian Tribal Government and federal agencies intend to contract for during the period. Among the groups given an opportunity to provide input to the project selection process are county and city governments and planning and development districts. County supervisors determine needs at the county level in cooperation with the Office of State Aid Road Construction. MDOT develops the STIP based on input from the district engineers.

The public involvement process works essentially the same for the long-range Statewide Transportation Plan and the STIP. Typically for the STIP, notice that it is being revised is given in every newspaper in the state. The notice provides information about the STIP, the 36 review locations, and how and when suggestions or other input should be submitted. MDOT also prepares a summary brochure summarizing the proposed program. A copy of this brochure is mailed to public officials of all counties and cities in the state. MDOT considers comments received as it prepares the draft STIP and then repeats the public comment process in essentially the same way. MDOT then develops the final STIP and submits it for approval by the Transportation Commission.

The process has been changed somewhat in response to TEA-21. During the update of the STIP this year, new techniques were employed in order to improve the public involvement effort. Articles were published in the magazines of both the Mississippi Municipal League and the Mississippi Association of Supervisors. The articles were an additional method of reminding both county and city officials of the purpose of the STIP and also that the update was being done this year. Additionally, there were mail-outs done to both county and city officials asking for their comments and input into the update. The MDOT had meetings with the executive board of the state's planning and development districts. MDOT also had personnel attend and do presentations at the annual convention of the planning and development districts. The presentations provided information on the status of the STIP.

MDOT is also considering additional changes to improve the participation of not only the local governments, but also the public, in response to TEA-21. Some of the practices being considered include:

Providing training to public officials concerning the transportation planning process and the importance of their involvement.
Using the planning and development districts in the state as advisory committees to coordinate input into the transportation planning process from local officials.
Holding local town meetings to explain the importance of the planning process and to obtain input in that process.
Using web pages and e-mail to provide information and obtain comments.
Utilizing public opinion surveys to obtain public input into the planning process.
State gas tax revenue is divided between the state and counties. The counties receive a portion of the gasoline tax based on population, road miles, and other factors. Federal aid is distributed to counties and must be matched at the local level. Two urban and five rural counties in gaming areas receive funds for infrastructure improvements annually from gambling revenue; MDOT also receives funds from this source.

Mississippi uses these practices:

Public Meetings and Hearings: Opportunities for formal public input are provided for the long-range plan and STIP; meetings, as well as hearings, are held on specific projects.
State Policy-Making and Advisory Bodies: Mississippi Transportation Commission.
Other Practices: Articles are published in magazines of organizations representing local officials. MDOT involved the state's planning and development districts and sent mailing to local officials asking for comments. Public input in requested by means of the STIP update notices that are run in all state newspapers.

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