NATCHEZ — Members of the board of aldermen want tourism officials to consider abandoning a proposed increase on the restaurant tax.

At a Natchez Board of Aldermen work session Monday, the mayor and aldermen told Walter Tipton, director of the Natchez Convention Center, that residents didn’t want the new tax.

The plan originally presented by Tipton to several community members involved in the tourism industry called for a tax of $1 per person, per night on all occupied rooms.

In addition, the plan would have also added half of a percent tax increase on all meals served in the county’s restaurants.

The new taxes would have added $450,000 to the city’s marketing budget.

The tourism tax would was meant to bolster the city’s total tax revenues.

And the new income was going to be used exclusively for marketing Natchez.

But at Tuesday’s meeting, several people voice concerns about how the new tax might adversely impact local residents.

Many were concerned that while the hotel tax would only impact tourists, the food tax would affect anyone who dines out in Natchez.

The food tax would add one nickel on a $10 meal.

Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux Mathis said she was against the food tax.

“I know a lot of people don’t want this,” she said. “They don’t want to be taxed every time they take their family to eat.”

Tipton estimated the food tax would have contributed $200,000 to Natchez’s marketing budget.

Tipton said it is not too late to make changes to the plan before the aldermen meet again on Feb. 12.

Most suggestions at the meeting included somehow adjusting the hotel tax to compensate for money that would be lost in eliminating the food tax.

It was suggested that increasing the hotel tax to $1.80 would compensate the lost food tax.

However, no new plan was reached at the meeting. It is still unclear if the food tax will be eliminated.

Mayor Phillip West requested an amended plan be drawn up by Friday to give the board an opportunity to study it before their next meeting.

The board must vote to accept or deny the new tax soon so that it can be sent to the Legislature by March 12, the deadline for new legislation to be presented.