Jackson City Council discusses vacant buildings, budget at meeting

JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson City Council members approved a brand new ordinance on vacant buildings during Tuesday morning’s council meeting.

“This ordinance is creating a registry. We will go out and we will identify those buildings that are vacant,” said Stan Pilant, director of the planning department.

The registry will require contact information for the owners of vacant buildings in the city. It will also require property owners to pay a fee for keeping an abandoned building with no plans for redevelopment.

“Making sure they’re code compliant — what we’re looking at is making sure they have the proper fire safety, and that they’re secure,” Councilman Paul Taylor said.

“This is not about revenue generation. This is about encouraging development in our city,” Mayor Scott Conger said.

Council members voted 8 to 1 to pass the ordinance.

The other updates came on the city budget, where Taylor says they will have to borrow less money than previously thought.

“Historically, we borrowed anywhere from $7 [million] to $7.5 million annually. This year we’re in the range of $5 [million] to $6 million,” Taylor said.

Mayor Conger says the intent is to factor in long-term developments rather than short-term benefits.

“We’re starting to make that progress in year one, of reducing our overall debt in our capital budget, with the goal of working toward not requiring any debt towards paving our streets,” Conger said.

Part of the budget is restructuring the priority for street repaving. The areas where the roads are in greatest need would be addressed first.