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The city of Columbus is looking at raises for both employees and elected officials as part of its Fiscal Year 2023 budget as well as shrinking the police department.
Chief Financial Officer James Brigham and Chief Operations Officer Jammie Garrett walked the council through the proposed budget during a workshop at the Trotter Convention Center Tuesday night. The budget as presented includes $25,008,300 in revenue and $24,424,168 in expenditures, leaving a surplus of about $584,000.
Revenue includes a projected increase in sales tax collections of about $900,000, as well as a 1-mill ad valorem tax hike, which will bring in an additional $195,000.
Expenditures are also up by about $782,871, with the bulk of that coming in pay raises.
Brigham said the budget includes a 4-percent pay increase for city workers, which will cost the city about $400,000. Additionally, about 90 employees making less than $12.50 per hour will be brought up to that amount, at a cost of about $300,000.
“It was just a shame that we had employees who were working at $10 an hour,” Brigham said. “Everyone in this budget makes at least $12.50.”
City leaders have said repeatedly that the city loses employees, especially in Public Works and the Columbus Police Department, because they can go to surrounding cities and make more money. Efforts to give a 3-percent raise last year were scuttled by the discovery of a $1.5 million accounting error.
Elected officials will also see a bump, with the mayor’s salary going from $83,000 a year to $106,000, and the council members’ salaries going from $18,200 to $25,000, Brigham said.
It would be their first pay raise since a 3-percent hike in October 2017, according to Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell.
One of the most dramatic changes to the FY 23 budget is at CPD, which will see the numbers of employees reduced in order to give raises to officers.
“In 2022, CPD had 99 (total) people budgeted at the police department,” Brigham said. “We don’t operate at that level.”
Brigham said the department was budgeted for about 70 sworn officers, with civilians making up the remainder of the workforce. The proposed changes would see the department budgeted for 55 sworn officers and about 20 civilian employees.
That reduction in workforce would fund the projected raises, Brigham said, with the new rates of pay designed to be more competitive with surrounding cities.
After the meeting Brigham told The Dispatch that patrol officers would go from $36,625 per year to $39,779; sergeants would go from $45,900 to $48,500; lieutenants would go from $46,000 to $53,400; captains would stay the same at $61,399; the assistant chief would go from $65,500 to $72,000; and the chief would go from $78,000 to $83,000.
“That scale comes from a study that (Garrett) gave to us,” Brigham said. “It makes the city more competitive with both the cities around us and in the state. … We’re not reducing the effectiveness of the police force, we’re making it a better-paid force and hopefully a better-qualified force.”
Brigham said while he is still working with Fire Chief Duane Hughes to nail down exact figures, the fire department is also looking to trim down budgeted staff by at least five — from 70 to 65 — to accommodate increased salaries for everyone else in the department.
Tax increase
The tax increase would add $10 to a citizen’s ad valorem tax bill per every $100,000 of assessed property value owned that isn’t covered by a Homestead exemption.
At least some members of the council were skittish about the proposed tax increase, however.
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“Personally, I don’t want to raise taxes,” said Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones. “I know the (Columbus Municipal School District) is requesting quite a bit. For us to raise taxes on people, I don’t think it’s the right time.”
Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens agreed.
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“We have to take into consideration that we raised 2 mills last year, and now we’re talking about another mill,” he said. “I just think we’re putting too much on them. If we’re being diligent, to use the mayor’s word, I don’t think we need to raise no millage.”
Mickens and Jones also pushed back on the CMSD’s planned tax hike after Brigham said he thought the CMSD’s levy would end up going up from 62.91 mills to about “64 or 65 mills,” based on the request it had submitted.
“I feel like it’s totally disrespectful for (the school board) not to talk to the mayor and the council about what they’re doing,” Mickens said.
“It’s totally disrespectful. They should have talked to us. It’s too much. It’s way too much.”
Jones said he was “steadfast” about getting all city employees up to $12.50, but unconvinced on the other raises.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” he said. “If we can’t do all these increases at one time, we can look at some of this next year.”
The council will meet to discuss the budget again Thursday night at 5 p.m. at the upper level of the Trotter Convention Center. It will also vote to set the tax levy for FY 23.
According to the city’s budget calendar, it will come up for approval at the Sept. 6 council meeting. By state law it must be approved by Sept. 15.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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