Ward 6 Councilman Jason Spears will get his fund for the mayor and each ward in the budget next fiscal year.
How much money will funnel into the new budgeted “department” remains to be seen.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to establish the funding structure for the new department in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget but wait for guidance from Chief Financial Officer Jim Brigham to determine the dollar amount it will boast. The measure passed on the third iteration of a motion from Spears during the council’s regular meeting at the Municipal Complex.
His original motion called for funding the new department with the $791,000 the city expects to receive next year from the county’s road tax levy.
That would have been divided into roughly $113,000 for the mayor and each council member to deal with projects in their jurisdictions, such as smaller paving or drainage work that might not make it on the larger scale project list or for which the public works department may not be best equipped.
The funds would not be discretionary, Spears said, with each project still subject to majority approval from the council.
Currently, the money from the county goes into the city’s general fund and is absorbed into departmental budgets, Brigham said. He voiced concerns that repurposing such a large sum would undercut the city’s ability to operate.
“I don’t have an objection to the concept or the process,” Brigham said. “Practically, I am concerned, since you are taking over $700,000 that currently is allocated to supporting the departments in the city and allocating that to each ward. … I just don’t think we can afford this.”
Brigham cited commitments to grant matches, the rising cost to support the Public Employees Retirement System and operations and maintenance for the amphitheater expected to be complete next year as new expenses the FY 2027 budget would shoulder. Plus, he expects revenue to essentially be flat.
Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene said he supported Spears’ plan but asked for a compromise.
“Can we ease into this instead of jumping in at $790,(000)?” he asked.
Spears amended his motion to fund the effort at $455,000 – $65,000 for the mayor and each ward.
Even that gave Brigham pause, as “squeezing” the budget for that much may still put things like employee raises and other departmental needs in jeopardy.
“Let’s not fearmonger,” Spears responded. “Let’s not say people aren’t going to get raises because our payroll is about $150,000 per 1% increase.”
Mayor Stephen Jones jumped into the discussion to defend his CFO.
“I don’t think anyone is fearmongering,” Jones said. “I think we’re a whole lot better than where we was when Mr. Jim came. Under his guidance, I think we’ve come a long way.”
At Jones’ urging, Brigham agreed to look into a dollar amount that would work for Spears’ initiative. Spears then amended his motion again to establish the department in the budget, then have the council work with Brigham to establish the funding amount before Oct. 1.
Before the vote, Brigham said he thought that was fair.
“And it could be more than $113,000 (each), right?” Spears pressed.
Brigham did not respond.
Other business
In other business, the council:
■ voted not to advertise for a full-time public information officer;
■ approved moving 11 months of unused salaries for the public information officer and city planner into the special projects fund;
■ approved giving the Golden Triangle Regional Airport $75,000 toward incentives for American Airlines westbound service to Dallas;
■ approved appointing two forensic chemist trainees to forensic chemists;
■ suspended a firefighter for one shift and ordered the employee to undergo an anger management course;
■ scheduled a disciplinary hearing for a building department employee for 3 p.m. Thursday; and
■ appointed Darren Leach to a five-year term on the Columbus Housing Authority.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
