Mayor Conger discusses efforts to save Jackson money

JACKSON, Tenn.– In July, City of Jackson Mayor Scott Conger inherited a $73.8 million budget and $75 million debt.  Now, he’s working on getting that debt down.

“In our first quarter, first three months, we’re operating at about 20 percent, which is about 5 percent below budget, which means about $3.18 million we are under right now in our budget,” Mayor Scott Conger said.

He says part of that is making the city more efficient. He says the city has saved $11,000 by switching to direct depositing paychecks and asking “why” when looking to spend money.

“We had a conversation with all our department heads about being conscious about what you’re spending, not just because it’s in the budget spending it,” Conger said.

They’ve also started implementing natural attrition to open and consolidate positions.

“It’s not just salary you’re saving,” Conger said. “So when someone retires and leaves and you consolidate a position, you’re saving salary, health benefits, retirement, sick leave, all of it. So it’s really an exponential savings outside what someone is getting paid.”

Conger also told said the city is reevaluating all of their contracts, and that includes the one with the Jackson Generals.

“We’re going to do what’s best for the city, that the funding we provide, the agreement that we have with the Jackson Generals, is in the best interest of the taxpayers of the City of Jackson,” Conger said.

The next city budget committee meeting is October 22.