With Election Day looming, many voters are finishing last-minute preparations to make sure they enter the ballot box informed. Some citizens will also need to consider whether or not they favor proposed tax referendums in their respective municipalities.
Voters in George County will see the option to vote in favor of or against a new sales tax on restaurants and hotels. The proposed tax would fund the “Pennies for Parks” program, directly contributing to building and improving youth sports fields in the south Mississippi county.
The city of Lucedale approved the sales tax in an August vote, and it would be applied county-wide if passed on Election Day. A one-cent sales tax on restaurant patronage and a three percent tax on hotels would make up the program.
“It goes to the kids. That’s what it’s all about,” Ward 4 Lucedale Alderman Al Jones told WLOX. “It’s upgrades for the kids, for football, for soccer, and eventually for tennis.”
Jones added that George County has already appropriated $1.25 to begin work on the projects, along with setting aside 12 acres where 14 new soccer fields will be built. Once that initial project is done, the sales tax program would then fund new baseball fields, pee-wee football, and upgrade some of this facility here.”
In central Mississippi, another sales tax increase will be on the ballot for voters in Ridgeland. The proposed tax program, a 2% tax increase on hotels and a 1% tax increase on restaurants, would fund an expansion of Freedom Ridge Park.
Should the referendum pass, the tax-funded expansion would include new pickleball courts, baseball/softball fields, full-size artificial turf soccer fields, a special events area, and more.
“Our city has long been a leader in outdoor recreation and quality of life for our residents,” Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee said in September. “This is a great opportunity for Ridgeland to build on its legacy as a thriving, family-oriented community.”
The proposed sales tax increase in Ridgeland would be added to what is one of the lowest tourist taxes in Mississippi. Once the project is fully funded, the temporary taxes would dissolve.
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