Natchez residents harbor mixed thoughts about a proposed tax increase.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen approved a preliminary budget Tuesday that includes a 20 percent increase in city property taxes.

Before the budget — including the tax increase — can be finalized, a public hearing must be held when citizens can make their concerns and recommendations known to the mayor and aldermen.

Although several taxpayers said they will not attend the Sept. 5 public hearing, they do have strong opinions about a tax increase, as well as a few questions.

&uot;I don’t think it’s fair right now,&uot; James Brooks said after dropping off his mail at the Tracetown Post Office. &uot;With the way the jobs are.&uot;

Jack Dallas, who attended Tuesday’s aldermen meeting, said he predicts &uot;a lot of reaction&uot; in the wake of the proposal.

&uot;The aldermen are the ones that put us in the position we’re in,&uot; he said.

Dallas said he does not approve of the proposed increase, especially following reports from City Clerk Donnie Holloway and Billy Gillon, a local accountant who prepared the city audit, that the city is in stable financial condition.

&uot;Now they turn around and talk about raising taxes,&uot; Dallas said. &uot;It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.&uot;

Lillian Minor lives outside the city limits but owns rental property in Natchez.

&uot;I don’t approve,&uot; Minor said of the proposed tax increase. &uot;They took our money and built that thing down there on the river,&uot;she said, referring to the Natchez Visitor Reception Center.

But, if the city is in debt, Minor said the tax increase may be necessary.

Several residents said they would accept a tax increase if city officials can convince them it is necessary.

Long-time Natchez resident Glen Blackwell said a tax increase may be necessary to keep from &uot;going backward.&uot;

&uot;If the city is in financial problems, it would be due to the actions of the past administration,&uot; Blackwell said while getting a haircut from his nephew, Jayson Nix, at The Mane Event.

Past &uot;mistakes&uot; have to be compensated for somehow, Blackwell said.

Anna Byrne said she would like to know what alternatives the city has besides raising taxes.

&uot;Have they done their homework and looked at it from all sides?&uot; Byrne asked.

Byrne said a public hearing, while it might not change the aldermen’s minds, is a good idea, because &uot;it would give them something to think about.&uot;

Anna Laura Smith asked similar questions. &uot;Is this going to work? Is this going to be a solution?&uot; she asked.

Across town at Don’s Barber Shop, Henry Floyd said his &uot;first inclination is to say no&uot; to a tax increase until he knows exactly how the money would be used.

According to the preliminary budget, the increased millage would go toward economic development, the public library and paying off the city’s bond debt.

&uot;Well, if they’re going to use it for that, it might be OK,&uot; Shawn Doherty said after stopping at the downtown post office.

&uot;If they could bring some industry in, some jobs,&uot; Doherty said.