Two businesses will have one more chance to plead their case for lower property taxes short of a courtroom.

A special meeting has been set for 9 a.m. Wednesday between county supervisors and representatives of Riverwalk Casino and Ameristar Casino regarding values set by the Tax Assessor’s Office.

Supervisors had agreed Aug. 18 with original assessments on Riverwalk and six other businesses during a hearing. Ameristar’s letter arrived after the deadline, but before supervisors voted to support Tax Assessor Richard Holland’s calculations.

“They say numbers have duplication in values of the rolls,” Board President Richard George said. “Apparently, they’re saying they weren’t treated fairly.”

George said options exist for the board to take the matter up again and perhaps change their minds before a public hearing at 9 a.m. Sept. 8 on the 2009-10 budget.

Aggrieved taxpayers may also object to valuations in court.

Magnolia Hill LLC, the ownership group for Riverwalk Casino, appealed assessments for its Warrenton Road casino totaling more than $56.4 million for 2009 tax bills. Taxes paid by the company on the casino and adjacent property equaled $90,126.51 this year.

Ameristar’s Vicksburg property is the listed owner of 20 properties including the main casino, a gas station, a trailer park and other adjacent land. This year’s real and personal property tax bill totaled $749,828.70 for the area’s largest casino.

Separate revenue- and population-based taxes are paid to the state and to local governments monthly.

Values set on four apartment complexes and one closed restaurant were also upheld by supervisors this month.

Overall, property rolls grew by 5.9 percent this year, to $3,343,404,905, due largely to new commercial development including the new casino and three hotels that were completed in 2008.  A fourth of all parcels are revalued in Warren County each year, often resulting in higher assessments.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com