More than a year after the City of Hattiesburg received legislative approval to raise sales taxes 1 percent on hotels, motels and restaurants, the City Council set Tuesday, April 23, as the date for Hub City voters to consider the tax for parks and recreation improvements and renovations at USM’s Reed Green Coliseum.
The City Council voted unanimously last week to set the sales tax election date during a special-called meeting at City Hall. The additional 1 percent in restaurant and hotel/ motel tax revenue is expected to generate at least $2.4 million per year.
Ward 1 Councilman Jeffrey George, whose district includes the University of Southern Mississippi, said the sales tax proposal was brought forward now because of the city’s positive momentum.
“Now with the momentum that we have and the positive direction that we’re headed, I really think this is an opportunity for the citizens of Hattiesburg to invest in some projects that they have communicated to us that they have wanted to see happen in their neighborhoods and their communities,” he said.
Mayor Toby Barker said the process involved in setting the election date has taken more than a year after state Sen. Billy Hudson introduced the Local and Private Bill in the 2018 Legislature. Gov. Phil Bryant signed the bill in March 2018 allowing the referendum, but the city was involved in a $22.5 million school bond renewal campaign at the time.
The bond was approved by 94 percent of the Hattiesburg Public School District voters on May 22, 2018. Hub City hotels and restaurants are already paying an additional 2-percent sales tax to help tourism, which was enacted in the 1990s, and the 1-percent tax would raise sales tax for restaurants, hotels and motels to 10 percent, which includes the state’s 7 percent sales tax.
“We’ve held more than 40 town hall meetings in every part of our city,” Barker said. “We’ve solicited feedback through surveys, email and social media to find out what our residents wanted the most – because we wanted to get the proposal right.”
The city recreation projects assume a $1.2 million per year revenue stream for about three years (June 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022). Any additional funding generated above the $1.2 million will go toward creating bike trails, sidewalks and multi-use paths across the city.
“While (1 cent out of every dollar) may not seem like a lot, we have estimated (conservatively) that it will generate approximately $2.4 million in revenue – based on how many visitors the city sees each year,” Barker said.
If passed by 60 percent of the city’s qualified electors, the additional 1-cent tax would begin collection on June 1, 2019, and be in effect until June 30, 2022. The other half generated by the tax increase would go toward the renovation of Reed Green Coliseum. These funds would be used to not only upgrade the facility to modern-day standards for seating and sound, but also to serve as a municipal arena.
“Improving Reed Green is imperative,” Barker said. “We are consistently passed up for entertainment opportunities because we do not have a legitimate venue that can hold more than 1,000 people.”
The Saenger Theater in Downtown Hattiesburg has a seating capacity of 1,000.
In March 2018, University of Southern Mississippi President Dr. Rodney Bennett asked the Hattiesburg City Council for help in renovating Reed Green Coliseum. Looking at a 2015 study, Bennett and then- Athletic Director John Gilbert outlined their proposal to renovate the facility.
“We must continually evolve as an institution of higher learning,” Bennett told the City Council. “One of our biggest challenges is to the meet the need of maintenance without addressing infrastructure.”
Bennett said the coliseum opened Dec. 6, 1965, and has a seating capacity of 8,095.
“There have been no significant improvements since the opening,” he said. “We do not have any other options.”
Bennett said the coliseum provides two benefits for the university and the city.
“I believe it will attract businesses looking for multiple venues for events like trade shows,” he said. “I also think it will serve as a destination for performers who want to schedule concerts. Overall, I think this can be an exceptional return on our investment.”
Money generated by the 1-cent sales tax can only go toward tourism and parks and recreation because the Mississippi Legislature no longer supports local-option sales taxes for anything else. However, Barker said if the tax is approved, the money now budgeted for parks and recreation could and would be funneled into other much-needed city projects.
Hattiesburg city officials posted a five-question survey in August 2018 to get public input on what improvements should be made throughout the city. In those questions, Hub City residents were asked the city park they visit most, the features they enjoy most at this park, improvements they would like to see at this park, what type of park, athletic field or recreational facility they would add somewhere in the city, and anything else they want to tell us about parks, trails or recreational opportunities in Hattiesburg.
The funds that will come to the city for parks and recreation improvements will be spent across 17 individual projects:
- Miracle League inclusion field for children with special needs
- Lighting and drainage improvements to Ninth Street Ballpark
- Drainage improvements to soccer fields at Tatum Park
- Expansion of the walking path at Duncan Lake
- Tennis facility improvements at Tatum Park
- Light installation at Friendship Park in East Jerusalem neighborhood
- New girls softball field at Hattiesburg High
- Chain Park amphitheater
- Refinishing of Thames Elementary gym floor for use as an indoor recreation facility during non-school hours
- Splash pad at Sullivan Park in Palmers Crossing
- Tennis court installation on East Eighth Street
- Property acquisition for a park in Midtown
- Playground equipment upgrades at Kamper Park
- Splash pad at Timberton Park
- Renovations at old Hattiesburg American building into community arts center space
- Conversion of dilapidated and abandoned property into public green spaces, pocket parks and community gardens
- Additional blueway public access point on Leaf River
George said the sales tax is aimed at people who visit Hattiesburg.
“This is something that not only the citizens of Hattiesburg will be paying, but everyone that comes to visit our town,” he said. “So, those folks who live outside of the city, but they come in and they utilize city services, drive on our infrastructure and bring their kids out to Tatum Park, they will also be paying this tax.
“Then, also the folks who will be visiting the town - whether it’s for a conference, whether it’s an athletic event at Southern Miss – they’re going to be paying this not only at the hotels, but at the restaurants. It will be an opportunity to capture some revenue where we weren’t able to.”
George said the One Future Committee, which sponsors a website supporting the 1-cent sales tax, is composed of citizens who also spearheaded support for the Hattiesburg school bond renewal vote.
“The Once Future Committee is the folks who have committed to pushing positive causes in our city,” he said. “It’s kind of been a transition of those efforts (with the school bond issue).”
George said the difference between the school bond vote and the sales tax election depends on a person’s perspective.
“If you talk to some of the folks in the neighborhoods across the city, they would say that there is a desperate need for facilities and for amenities for their neighborhoods and their communities,” he said. “Obviously for anyone at Southern Miss or anyone who supports Southern Miss say renovating Reed Green is a desperate need, not only for basketball but for the potential to be a municipal-type arena that can host large entertainment acts.”
The city also receives revenue from a 2 percent restaurant tax for the tourism and marketing organization, Barker said.
“Hattiesburg Zoo had 100,000 more visitors in 2018 than the Jackson Zoo,” he said. “The money also goes toward supporting other city-owned venues like the Saenger Theater, African American Military History Museum, and the Eureka Freedom Summer and Oseola McCarty museums, which are in the works.”
Hattiesburg voters will vote at their city precincts. If residents have any questions about where to vote, they can call 601-545- 4552. Absentee ballots can be requested or accessed by calling or by visiting City Hall at 200 Forrest St.