Tax renewal aids downtown projects

Published 9:55 am Wednesday, September 9, 2015

With the resolution for a special assessment rate officially renewed at Tuesday’s Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen, the Vicksburg Main Street Board is looking at where the generated revenue can be used.

The resolution was brought before the board for its annual renewal at the Aug. 25 meeting and met no objections. The board put it to an official vote Tuesday for administrative purposes and it was passed as expected.

“Its just confirmation of what we had discussed last time we met,” said Skipper Guizerix, Vicksburg Main Street board chairman.

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The resolution states the taxing district, which currently incorporates 306 properties, and the tax assessment rate, which will continue to be 5.05 mils on commercial real property. The millage is collected from a surtax on the Main Street Taxing District, which encompasses much of downtown.

“There’s a marginal surtax that’s extra above what people outside the downtown district pay that funds various projects,” Guizerix said.

He said Mayor George Flaggs Jr. has asked him to give a monthly update to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on what is going on downtown through the Main Street organization.

“This administration is very supportive of what’s happening downtown,” Guizerix said. “We’ve really had a lot going on, and they appreciate that.”

Main Street director Kim Hopkins is thankful for all the support the organization gets from the community.

“I appreciate everything that all of our merchants and business owners do for us and do for downtown,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins seeks approval from the Main Street board and the Board of Mayor and Alderman to use the money on projects like parades, festivals, concerts, the farmers market and other events. Guizerix said those projects bring tourism and new residents to town. The Main Street board has considered a number of new projects for the organization to start working on but none have been approved yet.

“We have a number of ideas and some of it hasn’t passed by our conceptual idea board that I chair, much less the city, but we’re throwing around these ideas and we eventually want to do whatever works of helps with the image of Vicksburg and brings in tourism and residential dollars,” Guizerix said. He said some of those ideas would focus on the residential component of downtown. They hope to discuss those ideas further at their next meeting later this month.

“Traditionally we’ve always been catering to business firms, entertainment, stores, restaurants, what have you, but now that we have residents, we’re looking to try to accommodate residents as well,” Guizerix said.

The first order of business is the organization’s main fundraiser Bricks and Spokes, an annual bike ride starts in downtown Vicksburg and travels across the Old Mississippi River Bridge into Louisiana and back. The Main Street Board of Directors as well as the Board of Mayor and Alderman have approved up to $2,000 from the Advertising and Promotional Category of the Downtown Taxing District funds to be used for banners, flyers and other incidentals not covered by the event’s sponsors.

The fundraiser takes place the morning of Saturday Oct. 3., and on the same day, the Main Street Program will also sponsor the annual Downtown Vicksburg Fall Festival. The Board of Mayor and Alderman have permitted use of the Farmers Market lot, the 1000 block of Washington Street, for the entire day. Barricades will mark off the street with requested help from the Vicksburg Police Department and Community Service Department.

The organization has asked for up to $3,000 from the Promotional Category of the Downtown Taxing District funds in both the 9/15 and 10/16 fiscal year budgets to be used on decorative pumpkins, hay, entertainment, activities, banners, flyers, balloons and other items for the event. The items will decorate the lot as well as intersections around downtown.