$6 Million More from Mississippi Taxpayers - Department of Marine Resources to Demand
A Mississippi Department of Marine Resources official told the Biloxi City Council the agency is launching a seafood marketing campaign backed by millions in state funding.
At the council's October 7 meeting, Joe Spraggins said the department has committed money to begin the effort. "We have donate uh decided to put $2.3 million to start this with and that'll start the campaign and Judy and them are working hard on that to be able to do it," the official said. He added that the department intends to go further: "We're going to ask the legislature to give us money, a little over $6 million to carry this campaign for five years."
The figures were presented to council members as a starting point, with the larger request still to come before state lawmakers.
The disclosure amounts to a concrete, trackable public spending commitment from a state agency, laid out before any formal legislative request has been filed. The $2.3 million start-up figure and the planned $6 million ask would, if approved, fund the campaign over five years.