Video: MONROE UPDATES: Green Stepping Aside, Amory Delays Tax Vote

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MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) — As a committee looks to strengthen Monroe County’s economic development partnerships, it’ll have a clean slate to work with.

Tony Green is stepping down after five years as executive director of the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce. Green says he’ll stay on as needed while the advisory committee studies ways to improve the chamber and better coordinate job recruiting among Amory, Aberdeen, Nettleton and the county.

The group has been brainstorming for a month on ways to get the Chamber more involved in industrial recruitment. It has looked at the regional partnership established by the Golden Triangle Development LINK and the Community Development Foundation in Lee County as models.

TVA economic development specialist Stephen Surles, who previously was the Chamber’s director, will work with the group to find a replacement for Green.

TAX VOTE DELAYED

AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) — Unless things change, the average property owner in Amory could pay about 75 dollars more a year in property taxes and some residents aren’t happy.

Aldermen Tuesday night delayed a vote on a proposed 7.55-mill property tax hike. Of the increase, 6.33 mills would go to shore up the city’s financially troubled school district.

Aldermen originally wanted to raise taxes for city operations by 2.55 mills to fund pay raises for city workers but cut that in half when the school district requested its big increase. Pay raises now are out of the city’s budget.

The school district has said it plans to ask for a tax increase each year to try to get to the state average for operations of 42 mills. The proposed increases would take the city schools tax rate to 37.04 and the city operations rate to 35.10.

Aldermen will now vote on the budget and tax increase at a Sept. 12 meeting. The proposed increase adds up to about $75 a year on a $100,000 home.