PETAL, Miss. (WDAM) – The friendly town is preparing to receive its first check from the Mississippi Department of Revenue for the 3% tax put in place in October.

The tax was aimed at restaurants and hotels to raise funds that would be converted into general funds.

The College of Aldermen will meet to discuss using the money to complete a pay raise for the Petal Police Department.

“A lot of people I spoke to firsthand knew they were going to vote and they expected us to take care of our first responders,” Petal Mayor Tony Ducker said. “We will do this again with our fire service when we see where we are financially and can also deal with it as we need.

“It was a two-year process, about $80,000 to $85,000 that we put into our payroll.”

Ducker said a competitive salary would retain high-quality workers and help the town of Petal continue to establish its brand as a friendly town.

“Firefighters and police are dealing with things that were unheard of ten years ago,” Ducker said. “We want to keep and retain qualified people so that they can perform at their best in their work.”

After completing the police pay raise, Ducker works to implement pay raises for other first responders and fix infrastructure issues in Petal.

But, first things must come first.

“Now more than ever, we need to show that we support these men and women who are willing to go out there and sacrifice the things they sacrifice on a daily basis,” said Petal Police Chief, Matthew Hiatt. “It’s our way of showing them our gratitude.”

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