VIDEO: Lowndes County Supervisors and Columbus City Council Still Divided on Restaurant Tax

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It was a continuous morning at the Trotter Convention Center in Columbus.

The City Council and Lowndes County Board of Supervisors tried to come to a consensus on a proposal for the 2% restaurant tax.

To put things in a nice way, there were some differences of opinion between the two bodies.

“Everybody had an opportunity on each issue to have their input, so nobody can leave here and say that ‘I didn’t have the opportunity to speak,'” said Mayor Robert Smith.

For about 3 hours that was the case, as Supervisors and Councilmen argued on how the tax resolution should be drafted

Board of Supervisors President, Harry Sanders, says everything the city wants from this tax is already in the resolution that was passed in November.

“In that resolution, the CVB can give money to recreation, can give money to special events, can give money to the amphitheatre, and can give money to the LINK,” said the board president.

That resolution doesn’t say how much money the CVB can give, and the city wants a figure.

“The city said it wants a non-compromised issue on $400,000 to parks and rec, zero money for the county, and I don’t think the county will go along with that,” continued Sanders.

That $400,000 comes out of the Convention and Visitors Bureau’s budget, which CEO, Nancy Carpenter, said could hurt the city’s economy.

“If this money leaves our CVB to go to Parks and Rec, then you’re not going to have those additional funds, those additional people, coming in and staying the night,” said Carpenter.

If nothing is done before the state legislative session ends this spring, the CVB will close in June.

“You’re talking about not even having a welcome center,” said Carpenter.

“You’d have to split the assets and split up the debt and so forth, which would be a nightmare,” said Sanders.

But everyone CAN agree a resolution will be drawn before then.

“We don’t want to lose the 2% tax, and the county, from what I’ve heard, they don’t want to lose it,” said Smith. “It’s left up to the two entities, governmental entities, to where we come together and do what’s in the best interest of the city and the county and move forward.”

Both parties were fine with the LINK receiving the annual $250,000 in the agreement.

However, again, if nothing is done in the next few weeks, no one gets any money, and all parties will be out $2 million.