Sales tax returns increasing for Philadelphia

Sales tax collections continued to grow in the city of Philadelphia, according to figures from the Mississippi Department of Revenue.

         Municipalities collect sales taxes for the state in Mississippi. The state in turn returns a portion to the cities which they use to operate on. The numbers are generally a good indicator of the business climate in a municipality.

       Philadelphia received $400,484 from the state during the month of November, an increase of $23,687 when compared to what was received in November 2021. Since January 2022, the city has received $2,105,126, an increase of $93,921 when compared to the previous year.      

         The Philadelphia Mayor and Board of Aldermen learned the news during their first meeting of 2023 Tuesday night.

The following action was taken by aldermen during their Dec. 20 meeting, in which they voted to:        

• Approve a motion to approve the property/casual insurance renewal as presented by Philadelphia Security Insurrance. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to pay an Allen Engineering invoice totaling $379 for work on the Apron Pavement Rehabilitation Project at the Airport. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to pay an Allen & Hoshall invoice totaling $14,000 for work on the  Booker T Gym project. The money will be CDBG reimbursable. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve paying an Allen & Hoshall invoice totaling $10,000 for work on the Philadelphia Utilities Lagoon Erosion project from the DFA fund account. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to pay a Robinson Electric invoice totaling $691 for Booker T Gym lighting out of the Bond B account. The motion approved was unanimously;

• Approve a motion to pay a Sherwin Williams invoice totaling $1,265 for Booker T Gym paint out of Bond B account. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve the termination of a Street Department employee. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve at motion to promote Fernella Thomas to staff sergeant in the Police Department at $19.27 per hour. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to promote David Tucker and Patrick Mitchell to sergeant in the Police Department at $18.34. The motion was approved unanimously; and,

• Approve a motion to increase Marilyn Jackson $0.50, Lesa Eiland $0.25, and Terri Fulton $0.25.

The board heard a presentation from the Rev. Johnny Beckwith of the Community In Action group. Beckwith proposed a fund-raising plan to raise $220,000 to air condition the recently renovated Booker T. Washington gym. The board took no action.

The board went into executive session to discuss legal and personnel matters and reported no action.