City of Vicksburg almost meets sales tax collections goal despite pandemic setbacks

VICKSBURG, Miss. (WLBT) - Washington Street in Vicksburg is lined with small businesses. Peterson’s is one of them.

Owner Bobbie Marascalco says business in her store full of eclectic goods is doing well even after facing some obstacles at the start of the pandemic.

“We were very fortunate the mayor allowed us to stay open because we have frozen casseroles...,” she explained. “We’ve done everything we can to kind of make people feel safe.”

The city was very close to meeting its sales tax revenue collections goal for the 2020 fiscal year. Mayor George Flaggs says that’s something to celebrate.

“When we compare last year’s taxes to what we’ve collected so far, it tells us that people are staying at home, the shopping at home, and because of that we’ve been able to generate, revenue at a higher growth than expected. That means we’re not losing revenues as we anticipated..”

Flaggs says by coming close to the goal, the city’s other tax rates won’t have to increase. It’s a sign of economic growth that Flaggs says has come without the help of government assistance. “I think that speaks volumes for the City of Vicksburg.”

Marascalco agrees, saying, “We hear over and over again how our local people are wanting to shop local and support us rather than order online.”

And that keeps her optimistic for next year: “As scary as this was, I mean, there’s nothing they have no indications. It’s going to stop, you know? So I think people want to live and they want to move on and live life.”

Copyright 2020 WLBT. All rights reserved.