Southaven ‘Penny For Your Parks’ tax dies
Musselwhite: City will bounce back, continue working to improve quality of life
Southaven’s “Penny For Your Parks” restaurant tax has officially died in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
Mayor Darren Musselwhite said Wednesday afternoon the bill was removed from the House calendar, and that revenue generated by the 1-cent tax on restaurant purchases will end at the conclusion of the fiscal year on June 30.
“I stayed at the Capitol in Jackson as long as there was any breath of hope for our bill, speaking to House (representatives) around the state and Chairman Manly Barton,“Musselwhite said by email. “This is a sad day for Southaven, but we will bounce back and find a way to continue improving our quality of life and economic attractiveness for our city.”
Southaven leaders, as well as leaders in neighboring Horn Lake, entered this year’s legislative session expecting to get extensions on their special taxes. Horn Lake has a tax on motel stays.
Such extensions of special local taxes have in the past been routine. But after gaining Senate approval, legislation granting the extensions in Southaven and Horn Lake stalled in the House. The DeSoto delegation in that chamber first lobbied to add a requirement for a voter referendum to confirm the tax extension in Southaven, then legislators from elsewhere in the state opposed both the Southaven and Horn Lake requests – with or without referendums – because some DeSoto legislators had not supported similar extensions from their areas.
Musselwhite and Horn Lake Mayor Allen Latimer went to Jackson this week, hoping to help persuade House members to bring the taxes back up for reconsideration after their extensions were rejected overwhelmingly last week. But with the withdrawal from the calendar, Musselwhite was ready to concede defeat Wednesday.
He laid the blame at the feet of DeSoto lawmakers.
“Most reps told me that they would not support the bill, not only because four of our (DeSoto County) House reps have voted ‘no’ to similar bills throughout the state,” Musselwhite said, “but more so because of their disrespect to their colleagues and to the legislative process in the State House of Representatives.”
The criticism has specifically targeted four fiscally conservative first-term representatives who swept to office in 2015 by upsetting more moderate Republicans incumbents. The legislators have defended their actions, saying they were just being responsive to constituents who wanted a say rather than extending taxes perpetually through the Legislature.
State Rep. Ashley Henley, R-Southaven, one of those targeted, said earlier she would not be bullied or intimidated into supporting taxes that go against what she promised voters who elected her. She told fellow representatives when introducing the tax bills before their defeat that she supported special tax extensions from other areas when they included a referendum provision, and she abstained otherwise.
The Southaven tax, which generated $1.9 million last year, was used to finance a senior citizens complex at Snowden Grove Park as well as other improvements there. Musselwhite and aldermen say it was a relatively painless way to generate revenue without raising property taxes since the majority comes from patrons who don’t live in Southaven.