I want everyone to know I am working to make sure state money promised to Jackson gets to our community. The Hayes Hotel Redevelopment project was caught up in a frustrating delay.

Recently, the House Appropriations Committee took action to pause a number of projects that were included in the FY 2024-25 state budget, which ended on September 30.

I do not sit on the House Appropriations Committee, so I did not have a vote on this decision. However, I want to be very clear with you: I opposed this action because it risks putting important local projects in jeopardy, including the Hayes Hotel redevelopment.

As you know, I worked hard to advocate for a $4.5 million state grant that was awarded to the city of Jackson to help redevelop the Hayes Hotel site. The $40 million project represents economic development, housing, and renewed opportunity for our downtown. It matters to our community, and I am not happy that it was caught up in a much broader process issue.

Here is what happened. Each year, the State Budget Office submits a list of “work project” requests. These are projects that were not completed in the prior fiscal year, where the administration asks the Legislature for permission to keep the unspent funds for up to four more years. By law, legislators have 30 days to act, or the funding automatically rolls over.

This time, the House budget committee chose to pause the entire list. Their concern was that many of these projects had been sitting for more than a year without meaningful progress, and the money was used for things no one knew about and didn’t approve. You should know where your taxpayer money is going.

Unfortunately, this broad reset also swept up good, worthwhile projects along with the questionable ones, including the Hayes Hotel project. That is where the process failed our community. Cutting waste is important, but it must be done with a more precise approach that protects the investments communities are counting on.

I want you to know this funding is not gone. The money returns to the state’s general fund, which means it can be reallocated again during the upcoming budget. I recently met with the developers of the Hayes Hotel, local city and chamber of commerce officials, who are working on the Hayes Hotel project. I am already working with state budget officials to make sure the project gets the attention it deserves during the new review process.

I will continue to stand up for Jackson and fight to ensure the funding that was promised to our community gets to our community. The Hayes Hotel project is important to Jackson’s Downtown economic development and needs to get done. Let’s finally finish this project.