Mississippi lawmakers open a special session today with hopes of finally passing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

But they also have something else on their plates: the Momentum Mississippi bill, a package of initiatives designed to help areas like Adams County whose economies have suffered for various reasons.

Assuming they can hammer out a budget agreement, we hope lawmakers have a chance also to discuss this initiative. It’s a program that would help rural areas like Natchez to redevelop our economy.

Along those lines, we hope that bond issues such as the $10 million Natchez officials have been seeking will make their way back to the forefront.

Natchez has plans to use this money to help a variety of projects to redevelop and revitalize the downtown area. During the regular session it was held up by some lawmakers as a pork project, but we’ve seen much greater funding go to other areas of the state time and time again &045; and we, as taxpayers, are footing the bill for those communities now.

Natchez deserves some of that funding, and this money would help develop the economy of a community that constantly draws tourism dollars to the entire state.

But as they begin this special session, the governor and lawmakers need to know how we feel about these initiatives.

If you want to see these things on the agenda or want to see them pass the Legislature, we urge you to contact the governor and our local lawmakers. Here’s how:

4Gov. Haley Barbour, P.O. Box 139, Jackson MS 39205, or phone at 1-877-405-0733.

4Rep. Sam Mims, R-McComb, e-mail address:

smims@mail.house.state

.ms.us.

4Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, e-mail address:

rjohnson@mail.house.state

.ms.us

4Sen. Bob Dearing, D-Natchez, e-mail address: mail.senate.state.ms.us

4Sen. Kelvin Butler, D-Magnolia, e-mail address:

kbutler@mail.senate.state

.ms.us.