A bond issue – the first in five years – could be sought by city officials later this year, said Mayor Laurence Leyens at a Vicksburg Association of Marketing Professionals meeting Tuesday.

&#8220We’ll be talking about a new bond issue in the fall,” Leyens said.

He said the money raised would be for infrastructure improvements and city landscaping on Oak Street as well as the construction of a recreation facility on Fisher Ferry Road. Leyens said he would like to revitalize the Oak Street corridor which now has a mixture of antebellum mansions and dilapidated homes.

The amount of the bond issue has yet to be decided, Leyens said, but he estimated it could be for $5 million.

The city is paying on a 2001 bond issue in the amount of $17 million. The money was spent on improvements throughout the city including on Washington Street, Porters Chapel Road and Mission 66. City officials have also used the money for urban renewal projects in the downtown area that included buying the parking garage at South and Walnut streets.

Leyens said he is confident the city can afford another bond issue, because of an increase in sales tax revenue in 2005. He said the increase shows the local economy is growing.

&#8220I’m going to leave the city stronger and healthier than when I started,” he said following the meeting.

Leyens said the city had $13.7 million in debt when he took over as mayor in 2001 and will owe $10.6 million by July.

Municipalities are not allowed to borrow money as corporations and individuals can. Instead, bonds are sold to investors offering the lowest rate of interest and repayment is pledged over a fixed period of time, usually 10 years.

Cities have the authority to issue bonds up to a state-set proportional limit of their tax base. Citizens can force bond elections through a petition process, but that has not been done in Vicksburg or Warren County.

During his speech, Leyens also asked those in attendance to help build a 10-year plan for the city. He said residents should work to bring new businesses into the city in order to create jobs and improve the quality of life for residents.

&#8220It is us versus the world, and the limit is what we allow ourselves to be,” he said.