NATCHEZ &8212; Saying a $19 million condo development proposed for the Mississippi River bluff would generate $300,000 in property taxes doesn&8217;t tell the whole story, Adams County Tax Assessor Reynolds Atkins said Wednesday.

Indeed, at the current property tax rate of 162.202 mills, the total property tax on a $19 million development would be $462,276.

However, just $121,763 of that would go to the city. In addition, $173,631 would go to Adams County government, $153,753 to the Natchez-Adams schools and $13,129 to Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

But the figures isn&8217;t likely to be near that high, Atkins noted. That&8217;s because if residents claimed the condos as their primary residences, their condos would be assessed at only 10 percent and they would get homestead tax credits of $300.

In addition, residents 65 and older or disabled would get homestead exemptions, meaning they would only pay taxes on the first $75,000 of assessed value.

As a result, there&8217;s no way to tell exactly how much in tax revenue the development would generate until residents are in the units, Atkins said.

Mayor Pro Tem and Alderman David Massey said Wednesday that when it said in recent meetings that the development would generate $300,000 a year in taxes, he was quoting a figure he was given, one that apparently included tax revenues for both the city and county.

In addition to tax revenue, city officials have said that such a development is needed to act as a catalyst for further development along the riverfront.

And that is where Mayor Phillip West says that the greatest potential is for the city.

&8220;I think there will be a lot more than $300,000,&8221; West said Friday afternoon. &8220;Not only are we looking at this development, but all the other economic development that will come as the result of this project.&8221;

Ben Hillyer

contributed to this report.