City approves FY26 budget with 5-3 vote
JACKSON, Tenn. — After months of deliberation, Jackson City Council members have approved the Fiscal Year 26 budget.
A special-called meeting took place Monday morning for the second reading of the proposed budget.
Councilman Frank McMeen expressed concern about the city’s spending. With the fund balance already near the state-mandated minimum, he urged caution to prevent drawing it down without new revenue sources.
“I would like to see us cut a million and a half out of this budget,” McMeen said.
A motion was granted to accept Mayor Scott Conger’s original budget with the addition of $1.5 million that will not be drawn out of the fund balance.
The FY26 budget includes funding for emergency services, but does not include road improvements.
“We can continue doing the same thing that we’ve always done; we can fund operations, we can do the bare minimum, or we can continue to build Jackson, make those capital investments that we need,” Mayor Conger said.
One agenda item was a budget amendment to recognize insurance recovery and appropriate funds for the purchase of a new patrol vehicle. While that item was approved, several council members disagreed on the decision to eliminate IT spending, which would leave security gaps for first responders.
“What I think is really happening in this process is seeing they want to be more involved, they want to understand more, and so, it gives us an opportunity this coming year to have them really get involved in the process,” said Conger.
The new budget was passed with a vote of 5 to 3. It will now be sent to the State Comptroller’s Office for approval.
While the budget is finalized, City Council will continue to amend it throughout the year to appropriate funds.
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