Ward 6 Councilman Jason Spears will receive his funding for the mayor and each ward in the budget next fiscal year.
How much money will flow into the new budgeted “department” remains to be seen.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to set the funding structure for the new department in the fiscal year 2027 budget, but waited for guidance from Chief Financial Officer Jim Brigham to determine the dollar amount it will boast. The measure was passed on the third iteration of a motion by Spears during the regular council meeting at the community complex.
His original request called for funding the new department with the $791,000 the city is scheduled to receive next year from the county’s vehicle tax.
That would have been divided into about $113,000 for the mayor and each council member to address projects within their jurisdiction, such as minor paving or drainage work, that may not be on the list of larger projects or that the public works department may not be best equipped to handle.
The funds are not discretionary, Spears said, as each project still requires majority approval from the council.
Currently, the county’s money goes into the city’s general fund and goes into department budgets, Brigham said. He expressed concerns that rezoning such a large sum would impact the city’s ability to act.
“I have no objection to the concept or the process,” Brigham said. “Practically speaking, I’m concerned because you’re taking over $700,000 that’s currently set aside to support departments in the city and allocating that to individual districts. … I just don’t think we can afford that.”
Brigham cited commitments to grant games, the rising costs of supporting the Public Employees’ Retirement System, and operations and maintenance of the amphitheater, which are expected to be completed next year, as new expenses the fiscal year 2027 budget would cover. He also expects revenue to remain essentially flat.
Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene said he supported Spears’ plan but called for a compromise.
“Can we get into that instead of getting in at $790,000?” he asked.
Spears amended his motion to fund the effort with $455,000 to $65,000 for the mayor and each district.
Even that gave Brigham pause, because “cutting” the budget for that much could still jeopardize things like staff raises and other department needs.
“Let’s not be afraid,” Spears replied. “We don’t want to say people won’t 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 inciting fear,” Jones said. “I think we’re a lot better than we were when Mr. Jim came. Under his leadership, I think we’ve come a long way.”
At Jones’ urging, Brigham agreed to consider a dollar amount that would be appropriate for Spears’ initiative. Spears then amended his request again to budget the department and then had the council work with Brigham to determine the funding amount before October 1.
Before the vote, Brigham said he thought it was fair.
“And it could be more than $113,000 (each), right?” Spears pressed.
Brigham didn’t answer.
Table of Contents
Other business
In other matters the Council:
■ Voted not to advertise for a full-time public information officer;
■ Approved the transfer of 11 unused months’ salaries for the information officer and the city planner to the special projects fund;
■ Approved appropriation of $75,000 to Golden Triangle Regional Airport as an incentive for American Airlines’ western service to Dallas;
■ Approved the appointment of two forensic chemist trainees as forensic chemists;
■ suspended a firefighter for a shift and ordered him to complete an anger management course;
■ a disciplinary hearing for a construction department employee scheduled for Thursday at 3 p.m.; And
■ Appointed Darren Leach to a five-year term at the Columbus Housing Authority.
Zack Plair is the managing editor of The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most comprehensive reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. Last week our reporters posted 24 stories on cdispatch.com. To support local journalism and our community, please subscribe to our site for as little as $2.30 per week.
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