Natchez Chamber of Commerce officials will draft a letter next Tuesday asking the Natchez Board of Aldermen to renew a tax exemption originally granted to Titan Tire of Natchez in July 1999.

In a Thursday meeting at Titan, plant managers said &uot;that was really the only thing the chamber could do for them,&uot; said Fred Middleton, chamber economic development chairman. &uot;We hope (city officials) will support this cause.&uot;

The exemption was due to be renewed by the Board of Aldermen last August but it has not been reviewed, said Alderman David Massey. Titan has to submit its request for the exemption by the end of this month. There does not appear to be a deadline by which the board must approve the exemption, said City Clerk Donnie Holloway.

Such support could be important for the company. Titan, one of the Miss-Lou’s biggest manufacturers, fired at least 50 workers last week. CEO Morry Taylor has said Titan officials are evaluating the company’s future plans given an impending recession, and that if the company did cut more jobs, it would do so in Natchez.

And the company’s financial figures have fallen in recent months. For the nine months ending Sept. 30, Titan’s sales fell 5 percent to $429.7 million. Its stock fell to $4.75 a share on Thursday from just over $8 in March.

Manager Dave Fines and other plant officials who met with Middleton, chamber CEO Anne Stowers and chamber President Bobby Russ Thursday morning at the plant did not give any specifics about Titan’s plans, Middleton said.

&uot;They said they would do what’s in the best interest of Natchez and their employees and that they would do everything they can to keep as many people out there as possible,&uot; Middleton said. The plant now has about 300 employees.

On July 28, 1999, aldermen voted 3-3 on whether to grant a tax exemption to Titan on $10 million worth of equipment. Then-mayor Larry L. &uot;Butch&uot; Brown cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the exemption.

In the weeks before that vote, the board had voted to grant the exemption, then voted not to do so, before finally voting to reinstate the exemption.

That final decision was made after weeks of discussion on the matter – and pickets outside City Hall by United Steelworkers of America Local 303L, which has been on strike from the plant since September 1998.

Aldermen Massey, Sue Stedman and Jake Middleton voted for the tax exemption, while Joyce Arceneaux, George Harden and Theodore &uot;Bubber&uot; West voted against it.

And those who voted for the exemption in 1999 said Thursday that they will vote for it again, although they said aldermen have not yet discussed renewal of the exemption.

&uot;We’ve got to do everything we can to retain industry, and that’s as important as finding new industries,&uot; Stedman said.

&uot;It speaks of our willingness to work with industry.&uot;

&uot;Now more than ever, it would be critical to do this. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep (Titan) going,&uot; Jake Middleton said. The city’s &uot;budget is tight and tax money is important to us, … but we’ve done this in the past for industries and we should in this case, too.&uot;

&uot;I’m absolutely for it,&uot; Massey said. &uot;Any industry in this city that employs 300 people should be supported.&uot;

Alderman Ricky Gray, who now occupies the District 2 formerly held by Harden, said he does not yet know how he will vote on that issue.

&uot;That was before my time,&uot; said Gray, who took office in July. &uot;I’m going to have to check more into that before I comment on it.&uot;

Neither Arceneaux nor West could be reached for comment Thursday.

If the board’s vote on the issue is tied, Mayor F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith would cast the tie-breaking vote. But Smith could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The chamber’s letter to Board of Aldermen will be drafted during a meeting of chamber officials and other local leaders who are organizing a regional economic development effort, Middleton said.