Jackson City Council meets for further deliberations regarding FY 2025 budget

June 24, 2024

Ryan Hodges,

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Jackson City Council met once again to vote on the proposed controversial budget.

Budget drama continues Monday morning as many city council members still have questions about the $100 million budget that is before them. Besides getting the budget with very little time left in the fiscal year, it also has citizens concerned.

“So if the budget is passed without addressing the lack of capital funds for street repairs, all of those who travel in Jackson, Tennessee are going to suffer, and the taxpayers as well,” stated one Jackson citizen.

In our poll from last week, we asked Jackson residents what they believe should be prioritized on this budget. 43% of people voted on infrastructure such as roads and streets.

There is currently no money budgeted for additional street repair or paving funded by the city. The second most important item in our poll was that the city not spend more than they take in.

The proposed budget has roughly $3 million more in expenses than in revenue. The solution to that could be dipping into the reserve fund balance, which is kind of like the city’s savings account, for the third year in a row. Councilman J.P. Stovall questions why.

“The rainy day fund is just that. It’s an emergency fund. We would be dipping into it $3 million. We cannot keep doing that. We can do this without raising taxes, but our roads are terrible. We have to fix our roads,” said Stovall.

On Thursday, June 20, the city council met to attempt to vote on this budget for the first time. Many of the council members voiced their concerns about not having enough time to thoroughly go over the budget.

“It was late getting to us, and there’s some reasons for that, we got new software and all. But we are having to look at a $90 million budget and have three or four days and, maybe even a week. It’s hard to do. So that’s what the main thing was, enough time. But now, in this time we have found a few things, for example, we have increased spending in the general fund $16 million, or $15 million and change in 2 years. And yet no money for roads,” said City Councilman, Larry Lowrance.

In previous meetings City Recorder, Bobby Arnold, told the council the importance of passing this budget by June 30. Indicating negative consequences with the comptroller’s office if they did not.

Lowrance took it upon himself to contact the comptroller’s office and ask what those consequences would be. We asked Lowrance if he received any new information after contacting the comptroller’s office.

“Well, yes, a little bit. I had the impression that there would be some repercussions if it is from the state. But there’s nothing from the state at all. As a matter of fact, I’m repeating what I said in the meeting, the state said it recognizes that everybody’s not going to get them on time and that’s why it gives an automatic up to 60 day delay,” said Lowrance.

The city council voted to send the budget back to the budget committee for further consideration.