D'Iberville gets its first share of Scarlet Pearl revenue

After more than 20 years of waiting for a casino in the city, D'Iberville got its first payment from casino revenue.

Scarlet Pearl Casino opened Dec. 9 and its first month's gross casino revenue was $8,480,000, city officials said Tuesday.

The local tax is 3.2 percent, or $270,000.

Forty percent of that, or $108,000 goes to the city's general fund. Twenty percent is earmarked for public safety, 20 percent for Harrison County School District and the remainder is split between the school districts in Harrison County, said Sharron Perkins, the city's comptroller.

"That's extra revenue going to the whole Gulf Coast school districts," Mayor Rusty Quave said.

The casino also contributes sales tax -- which hit a record high in December. D'Iberville's sales tax diversion rose to $820,000 for December sales, up $160,000 from December 2014.

In other action at Tuesday's council meeting:

-- City Manager Bobby Eleuterius suggested D'Iberville establish a sports hall of fame to honor local athletes.

-- Volunteer police were honored for providing 3,185 hours to work at parades and other events, saving the city more than $50,000.

-- An activation request was approved to ask the state Department of Transportation for a traffic light at the D'Iberville Boulevard and Boney Avenue intersection.

-- The mayor and council approved applications for Amelia's Tires at 10226 Central Avenue and for a two-story commercial building on the adjacent property.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 9:01 PM with the headline "D'Iberville gets its first share of Scarlet Pearl revenue ."