Jackson confirms budget deficit, cuts ahead
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The mayor of Jackson has suggested that the city needs to make cuts, as it has exhausted its fund balance and dipped into emergency reserves.
The Clarion-Ledger reports that during a Thursday budget meeting Mayor Tony Yarber proposed cutting Summer Youth Employment Program, funding provided to outside agencies, non-essential purchase or travel requests and non-emergency overtime not previously approved.
Yarber also recommends enacting a hiring freeze for non-essential employees.
The city is required to keep 7.5 percent of its general budget in an emergency fund. Under the current budget, the emergency fund should be about $9 million currently, but projections have it falling to about $1.39 million at the end of the year.
Yarber says he plans to divert any revenue exceeding the city’s needs to the reserve.
