A week after the city pulled the plug on efforts to buy the nearly empty North Shore Square Mall, Slidell officials voted down the special sales taxes they enacted to raise money to pay for a potential mall purchase .

Acting as officers of the Northshore Square Economic Development District, the Slidell City Council on Tuesday night eliminated an additional 1% sales tax at stores and a 2% tax at hotels within the district, which roughly covers the mall site and stores along Northshore Boulevard.

The district had adopted the taxes several weeks ago, with the revenue to be used to back bonds that would be sold to cover the purchase of the mall. The council had authorized Mayor Bill Borchert in August to enter into a letter of intent to negotiate with the mall's owners, Morguard, for the

See Full Page