City leaders in Bruce are on the search to bring in new businesses

CALHOUN COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The closing of Fred Stores continues to affect small towns around the area.

The old saying goes, “Out with the old and in with the new.”

In Bruce, city leaders are trying to do just that.

Mayor Rudy Pope said ever since Fred’s closed its doors, it’s put the town in a tough spot regarding sales tax.

“We sure hate it because we had a really good Fred’s store here. We saw of a lot of people shopping there, and they just closed it down and it certainly hurt sales tax in the city, ” said Pope.

Sales tax supports things like streets and buildings, however, Bruce hasn’t experienced a tax increase in over 20 years.

“The reason we are getting by without raising taxes is because the county keeps raising taxes and re-assessing and everything. That keeps us in the ballpark but it’s not real good. We need to raise taxes, ” said Pope.

Due to limited shopping options, Pope is on the search for new businesses so residents can continue to shop locally.

“We have certain things in Bruce you can’t buy. And so you know, they have to go somewhere else to get all those things, but anything they could buy at home we certainly want them to do that because of sales tax. We’re looking maybe a Dollar Tree or something to that effect. We’re working real hard to get somebody to come in,” said Pope.

Chamber of Commerce Secretary Trina Griffin said to get revenue flowing, the board plans to use vacant buildings along Main Street, transforming them into new shopping stores.

“Well, a lot of it is bringing those old buildings back to life and using old spaces for new purposes. And I think we’re doing that a lot. You know, we still have the museum here that we bringing back to life. It’s a great venue, maybe we have some old buildings more on South Square, and they’re being turned into hair salons and little unique boutique stores and stuff like that, ” said Griffin.

Griffin said they want the city to continue to be a place the people are proud of, even though they’re in tough spot right now, she says it’ll all work out.

“You got to love it. We love Bruce. We don’t want it to go nowhere. You have to love Bruce and if you love Bruce, you’re going to keep it alive, no matter what it takes, ” said Griffin.

Pope said he hopes to have new businesses for his residents soon.