Before a wall-to-wall crowd in the City Council Chamber, Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson presented his proposed budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 with no tax increases and no job or city service cuts, which was crowd-pleasing news to the audience.
The proposed budget is $313.6 million. The operating budget is $256.1 million. “This annual operating budget represents a $10.6 million or four percent decrease over the current year’s adopted budget of $266.7 million,” Johnson said, who received numerous applause throughout his address.
“Jackson, like other cities across the state and the nation, has experienced a trying year financially. Sales tax revenue has lagged. Building permit fees and public utility franchise fees were also lower than projected,” Johnson said.
“This, coupled with having no sufficient repayment mechanism in place for the 2009 Street Paving Bond, forced us to take a hard look at our expenditures and we sounded the call for more belt-tightening and greater efficiency.”
The mayor said while he knows city employees deserve raises, “but given the stark reality of the current economy, we cannot include one at this time.”
The following are some of the highlights of the Mayor’s proposed budget:
• Infrastructure and Transportation – $29 million in bond will be used to address the water issues. Work will begin on the Fortification Street and Jesse Mosley Drive Projects – providing new access to the Smith Robertson Museum;
• Public Safety – 500 officers have been budgeted with provisions for a new class of 35 police recruits and 30 fire recruits;
• Economic and Community Development – construction will begin on a new $7 million JATRAN facility in 2011 at the corner of Highway 80 and Valley Street;
• Human and Cultural Services – the city will partner with WIN Job Center in guiding senior citizens, ex-offenders, homeless individuals as well as youth and others with employment search process.
A key phrase that surfaced from the mayor’s budget message was “right-sizing.” “Right-sizing city government will involve us cutting waste; rethinking our processes and working within the framework of having measurable goals with progress we can share with our citizens,” Johnson said.
Residents reacting to the Mayor’s budget address said they were pleased that it contained no tax increase. “The fact that the citizens won’t have to pay any more taxes is a good thing in itself,” said Marcus Wallace, who has been a resident since sixth-grade.
Assistant Police Chief Lee Vance is pleased about the provision of having more officers on the streets.
“Citizens constantly tell us that the most important thing to them in the neighborhoods is visibility,” Vance said. He said the department’s ultimate goal is making the police department the very best that it can be.
Businessowner Olivia Thomas said, “I think it is an excellent budget that takes into consideration the financial situation that the city is in. I think the mayor should be applauded for not cutting jobs, and for not cutting services in a really tight economic climate, and I hope the citizens of Jackson and the City Council members will support the mayor in getting this budget passed.”
The City Council has to approve the FY 2010-2011 budget by Sept. 15, 2010.
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