Natchez Hopes Casino May Help The City’s Bills

Officials from the City of Natchez have approached the management of the Magnolia Bluffs Casino for an advance on their lease to help with council work.

The city of Natchez has been ailing for sometime now and it is known that they are lacking in fulfilling a number of bills and completing their payroll. It was brought up in an aldermen board meeting earlier this week. The main issue here is that funds are scarce. The city’s cash flow problems have been identified as stemming from funds that are locked up in reimbursable grants. The loans that have so far been taken out and applied for are based on these funds that are yet to be reimbursed. The economy of the city seems to have taken a wrong turn. They are already looking at taking a loan amounting to about $166,000 for this.

The emergency loan is actually a deviation from the plan to approach Magnolia Bluffs casino to pay their lease dues in advance, or to take out a short term, three month loan to manage the bills and payroll. The remaining lease amount that the city will have to get from the casino amounts to $250,000.  The plans were presented through a city council budget meeting last week.

The casino, on the other hand has been making its payments as always. In fact, the city will not even have to make an appeal to them for the full amount as the September lease amount of $83,333 has just been received. That however, may not cover the required cash deficiencies and the city will still have to look to the casino for more cash. If the casino is unable, or not in a position to help the city, they are left with no choice but to take out an additional loan.