Mayor George Flaggs Jr. wants to put the city of Vicksburg in the gun business.

The mayor Friday appointed a four-member committee to develop a gun buyback program for the city as a possible way to reduce gun violence in the city.

Flaggs announced his plans at the beginning of Friday’s meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, naming Police Chief Milton Moore, city attorney Nancy Thomas, human resources director Antoinette Bradley and assistant city attorney Walterine Langford to the committee.

He said the committee will develop a two-day gun buyback program where people can bring their firearms and sell them to the city as a way to get the weapons off the street.

The plan is the latest move on the part of the city to reduce crime. Flaggs in May appointed a crime committee to look at ways of fighting crime in the city, and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen have approved an additional $2,500 to the Crime Stoppers cash award for reporting information on crimes that result in an arrest.

Gun buyback programs have been used by other cities in the U.S. and in Australia as a means to reduce the number of guns on the streets.

“I have every intention of giving the Vicksburg Police Department and Chief Milton Moore every tool available to fight crime in the city,” Flaggs said. “This can be another program and another method to keep our community safe.”

Flaggs said the idea came from a resident who stopped him on South Street and suggested the buyback. He said Thomas researched the proposal and determined the city can buy back firearms.

“We’re going to look at it,” he said. “If we don’t buy but one, that’s one gun off the street.”

In another matter, Flaggs said he is going to Houston, Texas, Monday with the Rev. Willie P. Taylor, chairman of the committee of the Kings, Ford Subdivision, Waltersville and Chickasaw communities, to look at programs to improve the Kings community.

The mayor in 2017 earmarked $1 million dollars for improvements in the Kings community. He said the trip is designed to examine some programs that have worked in the Houston area.

“We’re going to look at areas in Texas that have had the same challenges,” he said, adding he will also be meeting with Houston Mayor Sylvester Walker.

Flaggs said after the meeting he and Taylor will be looking at opportunity zones, economic development zones and other programs “to see how we can best maximize the $1 million for Kings; see if we can pick up on a best practice model in Texas.”

He said he will talk with Walker about local government and see if any kind of relationship can be developed between Houston and Vicksburg concerning issues like port activity.

“I believe in building prosperity through networking,” he said.