Casino $$$ for schools has slowed

Published 8:21 pm Saturday, March 24, 2018

Each month, the city of Vicksburg collects a 3.2 percent tax on the winnings at the four casinos in the city. That money is then dispersed between the city, county and school district.

The city of Vicksburg receives 65 percent of the tax revenue, Warren County receives 25 percent and the Vicksburg Warren School District receives 10 percent.

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According to numbers provided by the Vicksburg Warren School District, since 2000 the district has received a total of $13.7 million in casino revenue as of January this year. The district received an average of $749,581.24 each year from 2000-2017.

District Chief Financial Officer Shaquita Burke said the casino revenue goes into the district’s general fund. The district’s total budget for 2017-18 is $63 million.

The city, county and school district have each seen dramatic decreases in casino revenue in recent years from a high point in the 2005-2006 fiscal year. That year, Warren County received $2.3 million and the school district received $941,430.41. Numbers for the city of Vicksburg were only available dating back to 2015.

By 2017, the amount collected by Warren County from its cut of the 3.2 percent tax had fallen to $1.5 million and VWSD’s portion had fallen to $609,132.15, a decrease of 36 percent in an 11-year period.

Warren County administrator John Smith said in recent years the casino revenue has been used to purchase police cars, repair buildings and pave roads, but in 2018 all of the revenue will go towards paving roads in the county.

The city of Vicksburg has received $1.5 million so far in 2018 from its 65 percent share of the 3.2 percent tax. The city set its budget based on a projected collection of $3.9 million. A total of $2.3 million has been collected by the tax so far this year and dispersed between the three entities with the county receiving  $587,869.41 and the school district receiving $241,594.54.