Jackson Free Press

Read the city's amended budget (PDF)

The Jackson Police Department and Department of Public Works face the majority of $412,000 cuts in order to make room for additional pay raises for full-time city employees, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and his administration announced last week.

Last month, the council and mayor made a compromise as they finalized the budget for fiscal year 2011 to include $950 raises for all full-time city employees by taking approximately $615,000 from the city's general fund to pay for the raises and balance the balance. Johnson had originally proposed a 2 percent raise for city employees, which would have amounted to $800 over the course of a year. City spokesman Chris Mims said the amount of cuts decreased to $412,000 when the administration crunched the numbers.

Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba proposed that the city's budget include a 75-cents-per-hour raise for employees making $17,000 or less. Johnson and city attorneys, however, expressed concerns that the 75-cent-per-hour raise for the lowest-paid employees would actually cost more with overtime and workmen's compensation. In the end, the council decided to raise all employees 75 cents per hour, or $950 more per year.

At the time, Johnson expressed concern about taking money out of the general fund to cover the additional raises. Last week, he presented the council with an amended showing $412,000 in cuts from the general fund. City spokesman Chris Mims said those cuts include $127, 374 for new vehicles and equipment and $100,308 from the city's department of public works.

Mims said the department of public works was able to find $43,387 in savings from the city's electricity budget, and the remaining amount will come out of professional services. Mims said the department may hold off on filling open positions or contracting outside work.

The administration is confident that the city can receive grants to cover the cost of police vehicles and equipment such as radios, Mims said.

"We have been working on the cuts since the council voted on the budget and voted to add this additional cost for the raises..." Mims said. "The mayor informed the council a week ago that he didn't think the cuts would be a significant drain on any services."

Other cuts include $23,683 to the city's Department of Human and Cultural Services; $72, 444 to the Fire Department's vehicle and gas budget; $27, 863 from parks and recreation's gas budget; and additional city-wide cuts for professional services and air travel.

Ward 1 Councilman Quentin Whitwell voted against the additional raises, saying he wanted a "revenue-neutral" budget.

"It shouldn't have impacted the budget," he said. "What we should have passed should have been more in line with the same amount of money we were already planning on spending, and that's why (Ward 6 Councilman) Tony Yarber and I tried to get the other council members to go for the $800-a-year raise."

Whitwell said, however, that he believes the mayor made the cuts with the least amount of impact to city services.

Also see: Council Adopts Budget with Compromise.

Previous Comments

ID

165143

Comment

Glad to hear it, I'm sure they are in great need, now if only the STATE would follow suit, some others might be a teeny bit better off. MIGHTY strange how they can hire plenty people and contract workers galore, but only certain employees get a raise. Just my opinion.

Author

wataworld

Date

2011-10-10T14:29:18-06:00