Gluckstadt expecting $150K monthly in tax income initially

GLUCKSTADT — The city expects to begin receiving about $150,000 per month in sales tax revenue starting in August, a consultant told newly-appointed officials who are realizing that setting up a new government is, well, particular, during their second meeting since incorporation Tuesday night.

Legal requirements often have overlapping deadlines, officials are seeing as they process through the process.

The mayor has been reimbursed for setting up P.O. Box 2210, Madison, MS 39130. They have obtained a tax ID number, all necessary steps to being able to set up, say, a bank account, things that must be established before the city can proceed with finalizing a formal budget for this year that ends Sept. 30.

“You can’t spend it if don’t have a budget,” said said Chris Watson, a consultant with Bridge & Watson Inc. Urban Planners, Consultants, Advisors of Oxford, who is helping officials navigate the maze.

Watson said during the meeting that was filled with about 40 eager residents that projections show the city should receive the about $150,000 per month in revenue beginning in August even without a city property tax, which is estimated from early studies to be approximately 12 mills. One mill is equal to $1 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. 

Watson presented a dummy budget to aldermen for discussion and answered questions. He said aldermen will need to set a budget soon before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30 and will need to immediately produce another budget for the 2022 fiscal year budget that begins Oct.1.

“You have to adopt it through September,” Watson said, “and adopt another by mid-September.”

Before the board can set a budget, however, they will have to determine what, if any city services, such as garbage pickup, road maintenance, police protection, they will provide this fiscal year and next.

Aldermen agreed they are happy with the status quo of services being provided by Madison County.

Alderwoman Lisa Williams, who was unanimously appointed mayor pro temp during the meeting, made a motion that was unanimously approved authorizing Mayor Walter Morrison to meet with the county administrator and other county officials to discuss continuing county services before they set dates for budget workshops and public hearings for the budgeting process.

Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the board unanimously agreed to authorize Morrison to work with City Attorney John Scanlan to draft a job description for a city clerk and to advertise the position with the hopes of hiring a clerk by the end of August after a budget is established.

The board also agreed the city will establish a Planning and Zoning Committee to develop a comprehensive plan for the city and to establish planning and zoning regulations based on Madison and other muncipalities. 

Each member of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen is to come to the next meeting with names of their appointees who are residents of the community and Morrison will appoint two members from the commercial and industrial sector with ties to the Gluckstadt community.

Tuesday’s meeting lasted two and a half hours, but Williams said she believes it was a productive meeting.

“The meeting obviously was lengthy, but we had good participation,” Williams said. “I felt like the discussion was good, and we made some good progress.”

In other matters during Tuesday’s meeting:

• Madison County resident Micah Gober, a member of the Madison Historical Society, presented a framed copy of the city’s first agenda signed by all members of the board to the board;

• Accepted a donation of $500 from resident Bill Weisenberger;

• Accepted a handcrafted and handmade gavel and pad made by Weisenberger and Dustin Barrick, a teacher and a coach at Germantown High School and Germantown Middle School.

• Accepted a donation of furniture, including 18 executive chairs and an executive table from the Mississippi Board of Realtors and storage space for the furniture at Gluckstadt’s StorageMax facility.

• Accepted a plaque from members of the Madison County Business League presented by Jan Collins.

• Discussed the need to find a suitable location for the board’s regular meetings so as not to impose on the St. Joseph Church that is currently letting the city use the church’s Parish Hall.

• Adopted a resolution to participate in the Mississippi Municipal Liability Plan insurance.