Jackson City Council postpones budget meeting amid uncertainty

June 20, 2024

Ryan Hodges,

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Jackson City Council held a meeting Thursday morning to take the first of two votes needed to pass fiscal year 2025 budget.

It was a special called meeting at City Hall with the main focus being on the proposed budget for next year. The meeting started with the normal public comment portion, where Brad Greer, a citizen of Jackson, voiced his concerns over the budget.

“The proposed budget that’s before you right now is a disaster. You have only had three days to take a look at it. That’s just not fair to you. It’s not fair to you and to the other council people to be expected to pass something before you can really grasp what is in that budget,” said Greer.

City Recorder, Bobby Arnold, started to go through the budget, but it was clear that several council members felt they need more information and it was too soon after receiving the budget to make a decision.

A motion was made to stop Thursday’s vote and take a recess where the members could hear from city leaders why the proposed increases were so high.

We were able to speak with City Councilman, Johnny Dodd, who is on the budget committee and called for the pause to vote. We asked him why he thinks they decided to come back at a later date.

“I think some things are not clear enough for us to make a decision today. I think there are some things we need to clear up, to clarify, to make the right decision for the people of the city of Jackson,” said Dodd.

He went on to mention specifically what some of the council members may want more clarification on.

“Well, I think a lot of people are concerned about the increase in pay raises. I think people are concerned about the police. The million dollars on cars that was talked about. And I think they are addressing the homeless shelter. I think all of these things are important but I just think that we need to get clarified and make sure that we are making the right decisions,” said Dodd.

After the recess, the council convened for a work session to try and answer some of their questions. This included speaking to some of the city’s various department heads.

“I am frustrated, to put it, that that is something I’ve worked on for 5 years. Our infrastructure desperately needs to be looked at and if we don’t have the funding, I am not voting for this budget in any way,” said Marda Wallace, city councilwoman.

One of the main concerns we have heard from viewers has been the condition of the roads. Wallace also had some questions on this topic.

“The past couple of years we’ve been working on a paving list on roads on a scale of 1 to 4. I couldn’t find that list yesterday. But help us understand, right now we see there’s 3 million, but am I correct that that 3 million is not there for paving?,” asked Wallace.

In the past few years, the funding to improve road conditions has come from an unexpected excess in sales tax, however, that solution may not be there anymore.

“That there’s no funding– additional funding, in the capital budget like there has been in the last 2 or 3 years,” said Bobby Arnold, City Recorder.

Fortunately, there is no increase in property taxes at this time as it was brought forward in the questions we sent to the mayor and city council members on Wednesday.

However, the total revenue for the city is projected to increase by 4.7% and the total expenses is expected to raise 7.8%. As such, the current proposal is not a balanced budget unless the city once again taps into its rainy day fund for over $3 million dollars.

Most cities usually only take money from their reserve funds during times of emergencies or in tough economic times.

The city council plans to meet again on Monday, June 24, at 9 a.m. at city hall.

Currently, there are no funds available for the $3 million dollar proposed budget for road paving. Also, the chief of police is asking for $1.5 million for 15 new cars.

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