Hinds Co. Tax Collector’s Office to reopen Tuesday, weeks after hack

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Hinds County Tax Collector Eddie Fair says his office will reopen Tuesday, weeks after hackers took down the county’s computer systems.

“After two weeks and a day, we are finally back,” Fair wrote on his Facebook page. “Many thanks to all of you for your patience and understanding. Thanks so much to our followers for helping us to get the message out.”

Earlier this month, many county offices were temporarily closed after hackers took down parts of the county’s computer system.

Other parts of the county are still not back online. The Hinds County Circuit Clerk’s Office says early voting began today for the November election.

Circuit Clerk Zack Wallace said early voting will likely take longer, in part, because the office cannot print ballots and applications from the network computers.

Absentee voting began Tuesday for the November 7 general election.

He also said his office is still setting up equipment so court filings can again be uploaded to the Mississippi Electronic Courts database.

On Friday, the county approved multiple contracts to help sort out the issue. At least $600,000 in payments were approved at the Board of Supervisors’ emergency meeting that day. However, county officials have refused to share details of those contracts.

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