A 3 percent increase in food and lodging tax revenue is expected to come with the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau’s move to the old Levee Street Depot, the Board of Directors said Thursday in approving a $1.13 million budget for fiscal 2012.

The budget goes into effect Jan. 1 with the VCVB’s new fiscal year.

The budget projects $1.07 million in revenue from the VCVB’s 1 percent share of the state food and lodging tax. That projection is based on current revenues of $1.017 million in tax revenue, about 10 percent more than the $997,500 budgeted for fiscal 2011. Food and lodging tax money comprise 94 percent of the VCVB’s revenues.

The VCVB’s largest expense is advertising and promotions, which totals $534,250. Radio and TV advertising make up 18.4 percent of that total, $209,100.

Salaries and benefits are the next major expense at $405,700, with administrative expenses totaling $81,200. In a related matter, the board approved raises for the VCVB’s salaried employees after a 40-minute executive session. Amounts will be determined by Seratt.

When the VCVB moves into the Depot — the date for which has not been determined — it will pay the city $500 monthly in rent. Additionally, the city has agreed to pay $150,000 toward the city’s match of a $1.65 million Mississippi Department of Transportation grant to renovate the building.

The payments are part of a 2010 letter of agreement among the city, the VCVB and Vicksburg Main Street.

Under the agreement, VCVB and Main Street will sign 20-year leases for space in the Depot. The convention and visitors bureau will share the second floor with the two-floor transportation museum. The third floor will include Main Street offices and a conference room shared by Main Street and VCVB.

Seratt said the $150,000 payment is money made from the sale of the VCVB’s old building at Washington and Clay streets.

He said there are still some unknown costs associated with the move.

He said the $150,000 for the city and an additional $70,000 to help VCVB operations will be moved to the budget from the organization’s $400,000 money market account, leaving a $180,000 balance.

In other action, the board:

• Approved the September financial reports.

• Approved the executive director’s and department reports.

Seratt said traffic at the visitors center was down from September 2010, with 12,298 people registering compared to 12,710 during Sept. 2010. He said foreign visitors were up, with 449 international registrations during September compared with 350 in September 2010.

He said the largest number of foreign visitors were from the Netherlands, 39, and Germany, with 32.