Philadelphia’s sales tax collections at record high

The city of Philadelphia set an all-time high for sales tax collections during the month of April, according to the most recent figures from the Mississippi Department of Revenue.

Municipalities in Mississippi collect sales tax for the state and receive a portion of that back each month. While not exact, sales tax returns are an indicator of how the business climate in a municipality is doing. These are funds cities use to operate on a day-to-day basis.

Philadelphia received $520,294 from the state in April, an increase of $32,587 when compared to April 2022. Since July 1, 2022, when the state’s fiscal year began, the city has received $4,346,623, an increase of $275,870 over the same period the previous year.

“This was the highest month we have ever received,” said Mayor James A. Young. “We have had a good amount of tourism dollars coming in and that has helped. And people are doing business in the community. If people will shop local 90 percent of the time, you are going to see steady growth.

The mayor and board met last Tuesday and voted to take the following actions:

• Approve a motion to remove GPS tracking equipment from Fire Department vehicles purchased with Task Force Grant monies. 

The vote was tied 2-2 until the mayor broke the tie and the motion was approved. Ward 1 Alderman Justin Clearman and Ward 4 Alderman Shaun Seales voted for the motion while Alderman-at-Large James Waltman and Ward 2 Alderman Jim Fulton voted against. 

Ward 3 Alderman James Tatum was absent. 

• Approve motion to pay Webster Electric invoice totaling $103,837.99 on the airport lighting project. The motion was unanimously approved;

• Approve motion to pay Allen Engineering invoices totaling $1,401 and  $9,961. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve motion to pay Akeinnis Brown invoice for $600 out of Bond B. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to pay TNT Safety invoice for $668 out of Bond B. TNT refurbished the city’s fire extinguishers. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to implement the Comprehensive Clean Community Plan Ordinance. It will not go into effect until  it is published in The Neshoba Democrat. The motion was approved unanimously; 

• Approve a motion to accept Trustmark as the lowest financing for the purchase of an excavator. The city financed $44,474 at 4.85%. The motion was unanimously approved;

• Approve a motion to apply for a bulletproof vest grant and allow the Mayor to sign. The motion was unanimously approved;

• Approve a motion to hire Lloyd Michael Bowden as a driver with the Fire Department at $14.13 per hour. The motion was unanimously approved;

• Approve a motion to purchase a Motorola APX radio for $10,246.74, reimbursable with Task Force Grant monies. The motion was unanimously approved;

• Approve a motion to purchase 7’ x 16’ enclosed trailer from B&S Enterprise for $7,395, reimbursable with Task Force Grant monies. The motion was unanimously approved; and,

• Approve a motion to accept the only bid for the Paratech Rescue Strut System as NAFECO at $151,080.50, reimbursable with a Homeland Security Grant monies. The motion was unanimously approved.

• The board went  executive session to discuss a personnel matter. When they came back, they voted to suspend a fireman for three shifts without pay. The motion was unanimously approved.