City of Columbus begins work on budget for FY 26
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Columbus City Council continues to move numbers and figure out the best budget for next fiscal year.
A lot of elements go into each decision.
The city of Columbus’s debt has been an issue for many years, but it’s going down.
Things like the Propst Park bond have money dedicated to them already. Meanwhile, other projects will be completed ahead of schedule.
Ward 6 Councilman Jason Spears said the city’s financial picture is improving, and city leaders are looking for ways to make it better.
“There’s a lot of other debts that we have that we’re now going through and seeing what we strategically can do. But really, overall, the picture is looking a lot more positive, and cash flows continue to go up. We missed the mark on sales tax a little bit, but there are some other things that are kind of coming into the next fiscal year that I think are going to really make a difference in the bottom line,” said Spears.
Spears said the city will get more tax money from tax increment financing, or TIF, deals that are ending. A TIF is when the city gives a company a tax break for so many years.
While things look promising, some concerns are the ones that the city hall cannot control.
“Sales tax revenue, we’re missing the mark this year when it finished out,” said Spears. “We don’t know the exact number. We can’t target it right at this point. But we do know that we’re going to miss the mark this year. So we’ll have to be a little bit more conservative on our estimate next year.”
“I’m being more conservative this year on sales tax revenue. Last year, the sales tax budget was 11,800,000. I’m only taking it to 12 million. It’s just about 2% increase. I think that I’m concerned about the economy slowing down. And, you know, so we know we have to live within our means,” said Chief Financial Officer James Brigham.
More restaurants, new stores, and new homes will help keep the city’s bottom line from shrinking.
Spears believes the next budget will look similar to last year ‘s, and he remains hopeful next year’s revenue numbers will look better.
“One of the bigger sales tax collections that continues to go up is online sales. And I think we can all agree that that trend is going to continue to prevail and grow in the future. So we just have to be very mindful of those cycles and how we plan for them,” Spears said.
In the Public Works department, Spears said the council will closely look at personnel and equipment to ensure more productivity.
Chief Financial Officer James Brigham said the city is looking to improve services, like a possible leaf vacuum truck to keep the streets clean.
He believes the city can bring in about $29 million in revenue this upcoming year. Councilmen could spend more than that amount, especially if a 3% pay raise for employees is included in the budget.
“From a policy standpoint, from a financial standpoint, that Mayor Jones is leading in that respect, and of course, we’re seeing a lot of active discussion among the council members, so that as we go into the financial aspects of this coming budget, we can make the right decisions,” Spears said. “And I think that short-term and long-term will make major impacts in how the citizens feel about the tax bills.”
Brigham is not recommending a millage increase, which means no higher taxes from the city budget.
There will be more public meetings before the budget is adopted.
