Oktibbeha County is no longer distinguished as a Growth and Prosperity Program county, showing lower poverty rates.
The program identifies specific counties as GAP counties in Mississippi, providing income, franchise, sales and property tax incentives to companies looking to locate or expand in these areas. To be designated as a GAP county, a county must have an unemployment rate that is 200 percent of the state’s annual unemployment rate or must have 30 percent or more of its population living below the federal poverty rate.
Oktibbeha County falls in and out of the GAP zone, Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins said, something which is reviewed annually. It has fallen out of the program according to this past year, he said, since its poverty rate is now below 30 percent — it was 31.1 percent for 2020 but has dropped to 23.5 percent for 2021 — and its unemployment rate the last three years has been below 150 percent of the state’s annualized rate.
“If the poverty rate falls below 30 percent, the statute has us look at the annualized unemployment rate over the past three years,” Higgins said. “If a county can’t pass the unemployment rate test, it falls out of the program.”
Under the GAP program, businesses with 10 or more employees, and existing businesses that expand by at least 10 jobs, are allowed a full exemption on state income and franchise taxes, as well as a majority exemption on sales and ad valorem property taxes.
The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors and the Starkville Board of Aldermen both passed a resolution in October allowing for companies to take advantage of this incentive and bring in new development into the area.
Higgins said three companies submitted for participation while the county was eligible for GAP. He said he cannot release the names of the companies yet because they have not been announced and the LINK is still in negotiations.
While these new businesses have the opportunity to develop through the program, Higgins said he prefers counties actually not be eligible for the program due to the poverty rates that accompany it.
“To be eligible, you have to have a poverty rate of 30 percent and a higher unemployment rate,” Higgins said. “We prefer for our communities to be lower than those thresholds.”
GTR LINK Vice President of Economic Development Meryl Fisackerly said the Mississippi Development Authority will reevaluate the status of Oktibbeha County each year to see if the county will become eligible again for the program.
“Each year, an assessment is done by the Mississippi Development Authority as they are the designating entity,” Fisackerly said. “Historically, Oktibbeha County has fallen in and out of the GAP zone based on poverty and employment numbers.”
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