Moss Point city leaders host rally in support of 2% restaurant tax

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - On Friday, Moss Point leaders hosted a community rally in support of a 2% restaurant tax increase to help fund recreational improvements.

The event took place at the Pelican Landing Community Center. Students, teachers, and parents gathered to support the cause.

Mayor Billy Knight said the tax increase is mostly to improve facilities for children.

“We are excited for this opportunity because this could be a game changer if we can get it passed. We just want to let people know; we are on our way, and we are going to get it done. We want all the people to know this will be for the kids,” Knight said.

The increased taxes will mostly help fund recreational facilities along with helping attract tourists to the River City.

“We are going to first start with our ball parks. We are going to go to the parks. Our baseball diamonds, our footballs, we are going to get that up to snuffle. After that is renovating our buildings. We have buildings here that have not been maintained for a long time. The third phase is going to be building a sports complex. We want to have a sports complex,” Knight said.

Student athlete Caleb Raston said renovating parks in the city will help the youth stay off the streets.

“It will help me, but not just me. The youth kid. I feel like it will be great to get some kids off the streets. Make sure they can have a place outside of the home they can come to and enjoy life. I feel like it will give Moss Point in general a better reputation for their name,” Raston said.

Polls open for Moss Point residents on September 13th.

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