Tate County District Five Supervisor Daryl Ricks said the job isn’t finished as he announced to seek reelection for the position.
Ricks was elected supervisor in the November 2019 elections and took office in January 2020.
Born in Memphis, Ricks’ family moved to the Independence area in 1971. He attended school at East Tate Elementary before graduating from Independence High School in 1981. Prior to his graduation, Ricks had an urge to serve his country and signed up with the Mississippi National Guard September 1980 at the location in Senatobia. In December of 1996, Ricks transferred to the Army Reserves located at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg. He retired as a Sergeant First Class on Feb. 27, 2007.
Ricks said he initially wanted to run because he wanted to see changes.
“I was upset with the way the county was being ran,” said Ricks. “My taxes were increasing, but the rumor at the time was that the county was broke. I am a businessman, and I wasn’t just going to complain, so I decided to run in November 2018.”
Once elected, Ricks got to work on fixing problems he saw in the county.
“Before 2019, things seemed to be out of control. The budget looked like it was a ‘copy and paste’ situation from year to year. We began going over each item line-by-line to see where the money was going. We had to ask the hard questions to every department. As we found things, the budget began to come down,” said Ricks.
The Board of Supervisors along with Ricks were able to reduce taxes every year since his election.
“I have lowered the taxes three times since I was elected as supervisor-not by myself, but as a board with the help of other elected officials of the county,” he said.
Ricks said the board has accomplished a great deal more than just lowering taxes.
“Over the past three years, we have done well enough to be able to reduce the taxes of the citizens of Tate County. We’ve been able to improve roads. We’ve also introduced the unit system,” said Ricks. “It has had the biggest impact on the roads. Without it we would never have had over 100 miles of new asphalt pavement in the county.”
Ricks said despite the accomplishments there are more goals to achieve.
“I’m the incumbent and this momentum has just begun,” he said. “I must finish what I have started. I’d like to see better roads, lower taxes and a safer community.”
Ricks said there are obstacles in the way.
“I want to make taxes as low as possible, and bring industries into the county where our children and grandchildren can work in the county in which they live. This is very difficult on all fronts. Acquiring land is nearly impossible. People believe that selling their land should make them rich, but the county can only pay appraised value. So no land means no industries. We continue to look and seek sites that will accomplish this. We have the will and will find a way!” he said.
Ricks said he’s learned a great deal in his first term as supervisor.
“The lessons learned as supervisor is to have better communication with the public before putting out any changes that could possibly be misinterpreted” he said. “Make everything clear and easy to understand.”
Ricks is an active member of the community and in his church. He said he makes an effort to always be available to Tate County residents.
“I make myself approachable and available. My phone number is posted and is 662-560-3162. If I miss a call, I will return it,” he said.
Ricks is married to Susie Ricks, of Milwaukee, WI. The couple recently celebrated 41 years of marriage. They have two children.
Their son, Daryl Wayne Ricks, 40, graduated From Independence, Northwest Mississippi Community College and the University of Mississippi. Following in his father’s footsteps, he joined the National Guard in Oct. 2000 and currently, works as a paramedic in DeSoto County. He and his wife, Sarah, have two daughters.
Ricks also has a daughter, Hillary Neal, 37. She is married to Michael Neal, and the couple also have two daughters. She is the owner of Sasse’ Salon in Senatobia.
Ricks said he has the full support of his family.
“They know my heart belongs to Jesus Christ, and what I do is as a servant to God, country, family, community and fellow man,” Ricks said. “This pretty much sums me up. I speak my mind and I am sometimes a little brutal. I really don’t mean to be!”
