Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Jackson City Council passes budget

Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber issued the following statement: 


Mayor Tony T. Yarber’s Statement on the City Council’s Budget Action

“The Jackson City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 13, passed a budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2016. The plan includes a number of measures required to address the City’s forecasted decline in revenue. Those measures include a millage increase by 3.00 mills, spending reductions and departmental restructuring and reorganization. Before adopting the budget, the City Council amended the proposed budget to make additional cuts to the Mayor’s Office, but not to the City Council or the City Clerk’s Office. As a result of the Council’s action, the City of Jackson’s PEG Network will not be funded in the upcoming fiscal year. The budget approved by the Council also will result in the closure of the Grove Park Course.”


Ward 2 Councilman Melvin Priester, Jr. posted this statement on his Facebook page: 

 
Today we passed the budget for the new fiscal year that begins on October 1.

If you remember the long post from a few weeks ago about our options, we went with 1a.*  We agreed with the Mayor to raise property taxes by 3 mils.

Although we went with the majority of the mayor's proposal, there were additional cuts that were made. We cut all departments' travel budgets and their budgets for "memberships and dues" for city employees. The amount of that reduction was approximately $120,000 and the cuts were based on how much we spent in those areas through September. There was fat here and we had no choice but to cut it.

In order to save the Americorps program, we voted to cut in half our spending on our two golf courses. That will likely result in one of our two courses closing unless we can get a partner to take over the program.

In order to deal with the recent wave of litigation against the city and our need to have outside counsel. We cut $300,000 from the mayor's office, legal department, and chief administrative officer's office. We set aside $150,000 in the legal department to go to outside counsel and put the balance towards our savings and to offset the expected decrease in revenue from reducing golf.

This was a tough budget process. Every option required a sacrifice. We must engage in changes over the next few months that will generate revenue because we can't cut anymore with letting go of more people.

I must recognize the workers who have already been laid off and who continue to be furloughed as we deal with our ongoing budget challenges.

I hate that we have to close a senior center and early childhood development center and now likely a golf course too.
But I am proud that despite these setbacks, we will still have an Americorp program and that we have saved other institutions that matter in our city such as the after school programs at our community centers and the Smith Robertson Museum. There is a lot more work to do. There are budget increases we will have to start planning for now such as ending the furlough, hopefully sooner rather than later.

This is the end of the line for the City unless we can organically increase revenue.

 *1a.) Mayor's Proposal Edited by council: 3 mil tax increase, 4% reserve, 7.5 million in budget cuts but alternative allocation of cuts. This is a horse trading approach, ratings agencies are probably still pissed but placated a little because of tax increase. Citizens are pissed because they get their taxes raised. People in city hall will issue competing press releases about how we carved out money to save X or y while cutting the budget without cutting services too bad, we will apologize about the tax increase and say we were able to have only a "small tax increase." All the problems we currently have continue and we will have a dramatic crisis budget season next year too. August 24, 2016 post.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hard choices that should have been made years ago. Two municipal golf courses 5 minutes from each other?

Anonymous said...

Considering how busy he is chasing tail surprised Yarber found the time to put out a statement.

Anonymous said...

Why are we spending money on the Smith Robertson Museum when a state funded museum is about to make it irrelevant?

Kingfish said...

I dunno. Tell me why we should build a lake for a park and fishing when we have the Rez a few miles away in Madison and Leake counties.

Anonymous said...

A lake would be a bad idea as well. Right now the city needs to provide water, sewer, fire, and law enforcement. Anything else is gravy until the rampant near criminal overspending is handled. A state auditor investigation of every entity receiving a city contract would not be a bad idea either.

Anonymous said...

Not enough cuts.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jackson keep voting these corrupt dipsticks in, seems to be working in your favor...

Anonymous said...

Don't worry Yarber. I will volunteer to paint the strippers so you won't have to worry about that expense. Even furnish the paint.

Anonymous said...

Gentrification of Jackson WILL increase revenue!

Anonymous said...

I think it's a little too late for any gentrification in Jackson.

Anonymous said...

Well...water rates doubled....real property taxes are up 3 mils.....1% increase in sales taxes....

Jobs cut....

Budgets cut....not enough.....

welcome to inflation

Anonymous said...

START FROM THE TOP: NO NEED for Chief Administrative Officer...POLICE HEADQUARTERS...take the Lieutenants, Commanders, Sgts out of HQ and into the streets...put two police officers per car...and STOP BUYING TAKE HOME CARS & TRUCKS...and see how much money the city will save..

Anonymous said...

Let Mattiace have it all and redevelop it. We will make it a fair deal and say he can only make $5B off the profits. With the current state of the Renaissance, he needs a fallback option.

Anonymous said...

Dandy Don used to sing "Turn out the lights, the party's over". Last one out of Jacktown....please turn the lights off.

Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo Money said...

So, correct me if I'm wrong. A 3 mil tax increase means another $100 of taxes on a property valued at $100,000 PER Mil. So we multiply that by 3 and wind up with an increase of $300. A typical NE Jackson home valued at $150,000 would see an increase of $450. Realize, many of these homes are still owned and occupied by the elderly that get a $1300+ Homestead Exemption. Anybody else is looking at the standard $300 Homestead Exemption. On the $150,000 home you are looking at a tax bill of over $3,000 with the $300 Homestead Exemption. And you wonder why no one wants to move into the City of Jackson?

Anonymous said...

What is the Americorps program touted by Priester? What is the $ amount of
City funding? Do city dollars match federal?

Wiki said...

AmeriCorps is a civil society program supported by the U.S. federal government, foundations, corporations, and other donors engaging adults in public service work with a goal of "helping others and meeting critical needs in the community." Members commit to full-time or part-time positions offered by a network of nonprofit community organizations and public agencies, to fulfill assignments in the fields of education, public safety, health care, and environmental protection. The program is often seen as a domestic Peace Corps.

AmeriCorps is an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which also oversees the Senior Corps and the formerly-funded Learn and Serve America. It was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, incorporating VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). A third division, AmeriCorps State and National, provides grants to hundreds of local community organizations throughout the United States.

The program first became operational in 1994 and has expanded over time, with over 80,000 members participating annually as of 2012. Members may be provided modest financial compensation in the form of cost-of-living allowances, student loan deferment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and the Americorps Education Award. Less tangible benefits include professional skill development and work experience. An internal study found that participation in AmeriCorps strengthened civic attitudes and sentiment, making members more likely to choose careers in public service.

Anonymous said...

Y'all need to look up " gentrification". Even Wikipedia will do.

It begins , most often, with an " artsy"and younger community moving into the city. As gentrification begins, the poor are forced out because of an increase in rental values and property taxes.

All, the elements are falling into line which is why you are seeing more and more construction and renovation around Fondren and Eastover.

I am thrilled to pay more property tax.

The only negative that concerns me is that the Oxford economists are right and that our Nation will lose 1 trillion in GDP if Trump wins and his policies as described on his website were actually implemented. In that case, I'll have to pray that there are enough people who understand economics left in D.C. to prevent his idiotic trade and military ideas from being implemented.

Many of you have been entertained by the politics of self- destruction or have come to feel more important by buying into the personality or paranoid cults of choice. Many of you are too obsessed with us vs them entertainment that now passes for news to face reality. The lines between fiction and non-fiction have blurred for you so you mistake what you see on television , read in books or see at the movies seems realistic rather than the invented drama it is.

So, I suppose you've missed that for the first time in decades our middle class is not declining and our GDP is improving but that illegal immigration and poverty has declined in our country. Oh, but you won't trust the math and will believe instead some hired gun or talking head here rather than objective information from our allies who actually need us to remain strong. It's like, oh you know, the allies who tried to tell us there were no nukes in Iraq. And, remember all the bashing of the U.N. team and how they were trashed before their report even came out? Those same people who misled you then are the ones you are trusting now.

So, I know there will still be the Detroit analogies. You'll still not get that people make mistakes , no thing or person is perfect, everything ebbs and flows , and problems, some worse than others arise and get solved . It's much more fun to do fiction and think all of life is a heroic battle between good and evil than to face it's a struggle between sensible, sane, imperfect humans who want to reduce mistakes, correct those that are made and are confident enough to compete with others, want their community, state, and country to succeed and those who want to control you through fear , blame others for mistakes and tell you only they can save you if only you will follow them.

The latter have an edge. They appeal to your emotions and don't require you to use your brain or expend any time learning anything. Repetition of mantras is all they have. They won't bore you with the details.





Anonymous said...

11:46 Your property tax calculation is off by a factor of 10. Back when Yarber was proposing a 5 mill increase, that equated to a $52 increase on a $100,000 house - source CLedger 8/14 A 3 mill increase is $31 for a $100,000 house, or $46 for a 150K house. On my 150K house, where the school and county taxes dwarf what the City of Jackson takes, my taxes go from $2450 to $2500. I think I can handle that.

Anonymous said...

@7:47 AM doesn't live in Jackson.

Anonymous said...


Y'all need to look up

I am thrilled to pay more property tax.

I'll have to pray that there are enough people who understand

Many of you have been entertained by the politics of self- destruction or have come to feel more important

Many of you are too obsessed

The lines between fiction and non-fiction have blurred for you so you mistake what you see

I suppose you've missed

Oh, but you won't trust the math and will believe instead

Those same people who misled you then are the ones you are trusting now.

You'll still not get that

They won't bore you with the details.

Anonymous said...

@7:47 "So, I suppose you've missed that for the first time in decades our middle class is not declining and our GDP is improving but that illegal immigration and poverty has declined in our country. Oh, but you won't trust the math and will believe instead some hired gun or talking head here rather than objective information from our allies who actually need us to remain strong"

Please tell me where you got the facts that illegal immigration is down without listening to a talking head or hired gun? Self observation or have you been counting the numbers yourself?

Anonymous said...

Kind of hard to make up a budget when you don't have any money ........but they managed......not nearly enough cuts though. Be afraid, be very afraid......

paulo said...

Hey leave the Museum along,some people feel the same way about the state flag,why do we keep buying them if the schools aren't flying them...

Anonymous said...

I just don't understand how people will support/vote for people who only have selfish motivations and have no clue how governance should work.

Anonymous said...

@7:53 - Your county taxes don't 'dwarf' anything, but your Jackson school taxes - that's a whole nother ball game. And don't forget that when jacktown increases your millage, your nice LOW tag fee goes up too. And the county's going up a mill and the school probably is too. Glad you're happy to pay more.

Anonymous said...

7:53 AM

You are wrong.

A 3 mil increase increases taxes $300 on $100,000 house in Jackson.

11:46 in reply to 7:53 said...

I'm not 11:26 but his math is the same as mine.

Anonymous said...


MY WIFE AND I JUST PUT OUR HOME IN BELHAVEN ON THE MARKET---WE HOPE IT SELLS QUICKLY AND WE CAN GET OUT BEFORE IT GETS ANY WORSE. IN 2012 I MOVED MY OFFICE TO FLOWOOD AFTER BEING DOWNTOWN FOR 30+ YEARS AND IT HAS PROVEN TO BE THE RIGHT MOVE. I HAVE LIVED IN JACKSON FOR 63 YEARS AND NOW IT'S TIME TO MOVE ON. I AM CONSIDERING MOVING OUT OF MISSISSIPPI. I JUST WANT TO THANK ALL THE BLACK LEADERS FOR HELPING ME MAKE UP MY MIND. THE TAX HIKE DID IT FOR ME---UNTIL THE CITY ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE ABLE TO CONTROL SPENDING JACKSON WILL CONTINUE TO GO DOWN. GOOD LUCK BOYS !!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

@ 3:21

Please replace your over worked caps lock key on the way out. Turn out the lights for the rest of us.

Anonymous said...

Like I said before , suspend all infracture spending fot the next administration that will see it through a full four year term and beyond . Looks like for now , we have an idiot for mayor and race hustlers as ED 's . For city attorney , look at her appearance , straight from Hooderville . What a disgrace on us Black Folkes . Just wondering from who's law school ?


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Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

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This is definitely a Beaver production.


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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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