As results of Tuesday’s motel tax referendum rolled into McComb City Hall, Mayor Whitney Rawlings kept a running tab for each precinct.
Around 8:30 p.m., the renewal held a 377-127 advantage with one precinct — the National Guard armory — remaining. The mayor was hopeful the tax would pass.
About 45 minutes later, vote totals from the Armory — the precinct with the most voters — reported a 369-138 advantage, sending a strong message that the majority of voters favored the tax.
In the end, the measure passed 746 (73 percent) to 265, well above the required 60 percent margin, with a voter turnout of about 16 percent.
The 3 percent tax is intended to promote and increase tourism in the city. Since taking office in January, Rawlings has pushed the city board to use the proceeds to complete work at the McComb Sports Park.
City leaders are hope upgrades to the complex would lure regional sports tournaments, which would bring more visitors — and their money — to town.
“The tax carried in all but one precinct. I’m thrilled,” Rawlings said. “We’re going to finish the sports park. We’re going to get it done.”
The city board still has to approve the use of tax proceeds to add two more ballfields at the sports park.
The date the tax will go into effect has not been determined, as a few more hurdles must be cleared.
Rawlings said this morning that election commissioners must make the tally official. Later, the city will send a letter to Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann to inform his office of the results. The state Mississippi Tax Commission will likely play a role as well.
Rawlings is hopeful the tax can take effect by Aug. 1, but but projects Sept. 1 as the likely start date.
Selectman at-large Tommy McKenzie said the referendum’s winning margin indicates a message from voters to complete the park.
“That 73 percent shows citizens of McComb are confident and supportive of the board, and how we chose to spend the money,” McKenzie said. “It’s a worthy cause. It will benefit citizens, but they will not pay for it.”
Recreation Department director Joseph Parker was pleased with both the margin and turnout.
“I think that speaks volumes to what the community is looking for and the development of these additional ballfields,” he said. “This has been something we’ve been looking forward to last two or three years now. We hope the city will be able to wrap arms around this project as we move forward.”
McComb had a motel tax from 2005-09 that earned the city $570,000. Proceeds funded the city’s now-defunct Department of Community Relations and Tourism.
But Reps. Sam Mims and David Myers, both of McComb, withdrew their support to renew it in 2009. They said the money wasn’t being spent effectively. Supporters of then-Mayor Zach Patterson saw their decision as an act of retribution, since the mayor had a rocky relationship with the two lawmakers.
Since the Legislature did not renew the tax in its 2009 session, the tax expired at the end of that year. That meant the city had to eventually fund the community relations and tourism department out of the general fund.
Earlier this year, the board voted unanimously to ask legislators to renew the tax. A short time later, Rawlings convinced the board to close the tourism office and use its money to bolster manpower in the police department. Selectmen Melvin Joe Johnson and Tammy Witherspoon opposed the closure.
Witherspoon said this morning that the margin represented the people’s voice.
“The people have spoken,” she said. “I’m definitely surprised at the (high) turnout. The voters decided, and they wanted the tax.”
Johnson said last week he did not necessarily oppose the tax, but he does not agree with spending all the proceeds on the sports park. He has pushed for a project to renovate the Martin Luther King Center gym, which was condemned a few years ago.
“The kids just don’t have anywhere for basketball, even outside basketball,” Johnson said. “That’s why you see so many kids with their goals and playing basketball in the street.”
Johnson believes with the sports park’s price tag lowered from about $2.5 million to $800,000, tax proceeds should be split between the sports park and gym.
Parker said the park can only be completed in the three years remaining in this board’s term if funds are not diverted.
Parker said the tax is projected to generate about $525,000 over the next three years. That, combined with the $50,000 to $75,000 his department generates each year, makes the $800,000 mark achievable.
Here are the precinct-by-precinct results of the referendum:
• Precinct 1: McComb National Guard Armory — 369-138
• Precinct 2A: McComb American Legion Hut — 109-7
• Precinct 2B: McComb Storehouse Church — 96-15
• Precinct 2C: McComb Community Parks building — 5-10
• Precinct 3: New Hope Missionary Baptist Church — 53-29
• Precinct 4A: McComb Housing Authority — 48-27
• Precinct 4B: Joe’s Tractor Co. — 5-4
• Precinct 5A: McComb Martin Luther King Center — 35-20
• Precinct 5B: McComb Alpha Center — 26-17
