The city of Vicksburg will be raising its minimum wage again. Mayor George Flaggs made the announcement via Twitter last week saying they will be raising the minimum wage without raising any taxes. Flaggs says this is the third time they have been able to give the city employees a raise during his time as Mayor.
“I am going to propose to the Board of Alderman that we raise it again this year and then give everybody across the board a raise starting with the highest percentage going to the policemen and the firefighters, then the division heads and then the rest of the employees so everybody will essentially get a raise.”
He said they will be doing this by using a combination of surplus tax revenues, savings, and medical savings which he says they will be able to make possible by having a medical clinic for the city which will reduce their costs of going to the ER by upwards of $500,000.
— Mayor George Flaggs, Jr. (@MayorFlaggs) June 25, 2019
“Everybody is important,” said Flaggs. “We have what we call a team Vicksburg, not an individual Vicksburg and if the team does well, then everybody ought to do well.”
He adds that it is important to be able to do all of this while saving money and not raising taxes.
“I don’t believe in taxes,” said Flaggs. If you want somebody to raise taxes, then I’m not your guy. I didn’t do it in the legislature and I haven’t done it as Mayor. I believe we ought to be fiscally responsible and be able to pay according to the revenues that are generated and creative and innovative financing allow you to move money around and accept priorities on spending.”
Mississippi’s minimum wage matches the federal wage at $7.25 an hour. Vicksburg will be raising theirs from $8.25 to $8.50 and will take effect at the start of their fiscal year on October 1st.
