The City of Jackson will soon meet to approve the Fiscal Year 24-25 budget.
The proposed budget appears to be one of the most dramatic increases year-to-year in recent history. While numerous salary and budget increases for various departments are included, the budget includes less spending on ongoing issues such as road repair and maintenance.
After reviewing the proposed budget, WBBJ has posed several questions regarding the need and reason for some of these exceptional increases.
The following email has been sent to City Councilmembers, as well as Mayor Scott Conger, in an effort to gain more clarity about how tax dollars are being spent.
BEGIN:
After reviewing the proposed 2024/2025 budget, it appears to be one of the largest increases (year to year) in recent history. There are several areas whose increases are in high double digits and well above normal increases in the past. In addition, it appears the City will only spend $3 million on road repair, which would be less than the $4 million spent this year.
Also, the City is proposing to purchase over $1 million of Police Cars, after spending $2 million in just the last few years. The rationale given for spending the $2 million was so the City would not have to buy any new vehicles for several years.
Can you please clarify the need and reason for these exceptional increases? Also, it does not appear that the budget is balanced without an increase in revenue. Is the City expecting an increase in over $6 million in revenue and if so, where will these funds come from?
Here is the list of expenses we are asking for clarification on:
In Section 7 (page 10) of your budget document it states the tax rate for real estate and personal property shall be 1.6114 per hundred dollars of assessed valuation. Is that not higher than the current rate of roughly 1.44 per hundred dollars?
Civic Center: What type and how many risers will be included in the $1.5 million purchase?
JPD: How many vehicles and why are they needed in the $1.2 million request?
Great Wolf Lodge Road: Is this project dead? It shows no dollars for this in 2025.
Street Paving: $3 million. Is that the total for the entire year? With the condition of the streets in Jackson, how can $3 million be enough when the $4 million spent in 2024 has hardly made a dent in the problem. This is one of the biggest concerns people living in Jackson face daily.
Police Admin: 24.42% increase in regular salaries is far greater than in any recent budget. It is almost $400,00o increase in a single year. What is the justification and reason for such a large increase?
JPD/Professional Service: What do the taxpayers get for an additional $300,000 in Professional Service(s)? What does this money do to help keep citizens safe and fight crime in Jackson?
JPD/Patrol Dept.: 16.22% increase is above the national average but at least lower than what is proposed for Police Admin. Does this number include additional Officers or is it just the raises they will receive in 2025?
Incentive Pay: This line increased by $224,000 in just one year. What is it to be used for and is there a true need to have such a large amount for incentive pay on top of the raises you are proposing?
Major Crimes: 18.5% increase
Central Records: 16.45% increase
Aviation Unit: 25% increase
Gang Unit: 16.71% increase
Corrections Div.: 37.765 increase
Police Support: 18%, shouldn’t this get done if you buy additional vehicles (new)
Family Justice Ctr.: 18.40% increase in salaries
Traffic Division: 15.57% increase in salaries
Recovery Court: 139% increase, 83.81% increase in benefits – Additional personnel or ???
Fire Dept. Admin: 37.95% increase – Are you adding more upper level positions? What justifies an almost 38% increase in just a single year?
Fire Prevention: 75.51% increase – Are you adding more personnel? What justifies such a massive increase in the single year? This increase is also tied to a 77.58% increase in benefit costs.
Central Dispatch: 15% increase
Public Works: 53.67% increase, 70.41% benefit increase. A 50% increase in a single year is amazing. Are you adding additional personnel? Why such a huge increase?
Public Service Complex: 649.67% increase in benefits. Were they not receiving benefits before?
Street Maintenance: 18.47% increase in salaries – Is there additional personnel being added or is this an increase just for current employees?
Traffic Signalization: 14.04% increase in salaries, 308% increase in overtime, 13.7 increase in benefits and $20,000 increase in utility and sanitation.
Stormwater Ops: 41.59% increase in salaries and 18.70% increase in benefits. Is there more personnel being added or what is driving over a 40% increase in a single year?
Athletics: 13.70% increase in salaries and 52.51% increase in benefits. Are you now giving benefits to employees who were not receiving them before?
Municipal Maintenance: 19.85% increase in salaries and 26.17% increase in benefits. Are you adding personnel or is the increase only for current employees? Are you now proving additional benefits over what was proved in 2024?
Groundskeeping: 26.87% increase in salaries and 35.55% increase in benefits. Why?
Legends Music Museum: 523.45% increase in salaries and 980.91% increase in benefits – A $200,000 increase from last year, reasons?
The Ned: 15.23% increase in salaries and 19.78% increase in benefits
Fairgrounds: 44.10% increase in salaries and 31.51% increase in benefits. Is the Fairgrounds turning a profit or covering all its current expenditures? Justification for such large increases?
Jackson Ballpark: 69.37% increase in salaries and 87.58% increase in benefit costs. Are you adding personnel, are they getting additional benefits and is the ballpark still losing money?
TR White: 45.90% increase in benefits – Are you adding benefits to current employees or why is the increase so large?
Westwood Community Center: 74.80% increase in benefits – Are you adding benefits to current employees or why is the increase so large?
Sportsplex Concessions: 90.72% increase in salaries and 629.81% increase in benefits. In the past the concession stand has not provided any significant revenue, what is driving the near 100% increase in salaries and unbelievably increase in benefit costs.
South Jackson Community Ctr: 66.80% benefit increase – who is getting these benefits as opposed to what was paid in 2024?
Tennis Center: 35.30% increase in salaries and 913.57% increase in benefits – both numbers seem high compared to 2024 – reasons?
Capital Budget: Is the Capital Budget only $6,523,005? It is a $3 million decrease from 2024 and almost $4 million less than 2023. With JPD getting well over a $1 million of this figure, how can important projects (like street maintenance) be complete with only roughly $5 million left to use?
Debt Service: Is the City reducing their Debt Service by almost 50% compared to the last two fiscal years? Are you reducing the amount to pay off the City’s dept to help balance the budget? With the dramatic increases in the majority of departments, are you unable to continue paying off the debt at over $10 million per fiscal year?
Is the $95,692,103 figure correct for what you estimate in revenue for FY 25? If it is, where do you anticipate receiving the additional $6 million in Tax Revenue?
It appears that the FY25 budget is $98,7700,861. If that is correct the City is over budget by $3,078,758. How are you balancing the budget? Are you tapping into the Reserve account which would take it to roughly $22 million? Would not the City need a larger reserve account or is that figure not accurate?
The FY25 budget is so far out of scope from any budget in the past several years. Record setting raises and personnel costs that exceed the current rate of inflation and what non-government Citizens of Jackson will receive in their jobs.
Streets in the city are in great need of repair, as are other areas that impact the citizens. It appears this budget is focused on dramatic increases for employees, perhaps at the cost of using tax dollars for what the citizens and voters would choose.
BUDGET DOCUMENTS:
SEE ALSO: Jackson Budget Committee invests millions towards police, other departments (6/18/24)