Members of Hattiesburg City Council recently voted to approve the city’s third consecutive structurally-balanced general fund budget – and the sixth budget in a row that has had unanimous support by the council.
The budget – which will see no property taxes raised for citizens – features a total of $140.4 million for Fiscal Year 2023, with a general fund comprised of $58.1 million. That general fund amount is up from last year’s amount of approximately $55 million.
“I think it recognizes that we have seen some revenue growth with sales tax,” Mayor Toby Barker said. “We’re estimating $25.5 (million) in collections, which we easily cleared this current year, and we’re also understanding costs have gone up with that – we have to pay more in fuel, more in insurance.
“We also know that economists are advising cities that they’re going to start seeing their sales tax plateau, and there’s the potential of a mild recession. So I think we budget responsibly, even while making some pretty big steps forward for our employees in terms of wages.”
Millage for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts October 1, will remain at 58.13 mills, meaning no property taxes will raise. Approximately $2.6 million of the budget will be allocated for paving, and a scheduled increase in the city’s diversion of use tax will likely push that amount higher.
While the estimated $25.5 million would be the city’s highest projected amount to begin a fiscal year, it is still lower than the total sales taxes produced in the current fiscal year. IN addition, the budget allows for the following pay raises:
- Most full-time employees in general fund departments will receive $1 per hour wage increase, raising the minimum wage to $13 – continued investment with a goal of getting minimum wage up to $15 per hour;
- Police and fire pay scale levels will be increased by $2,000, and
- Water and sewer personnel will receive years of service raise.
“Being able to give people $13 an hour in general fund departments – and most of our employees are well over that – but meeting that base minimum wage brings us a little bit closer to where we want it to be in staying strong with our infrastructure investments,” Barker said.
Water and sewer for the upcoming year is set at approximately $54.6 million, down from last year’s $57.5 million. Debt services also are down from last year: $54.6 million this year compared to $5.2 million last year.
The general fund takes up 34 percent of the budget, followed by enterprise funds at 32 percent, special revenue funds at 16 percent, capital funds projects at 15 percent and debt service funds at 3 percent. Special revenue funds include, but are not limited to, approximately $3.7 million for parks and recreation, $5 million for the special tax sales fund, $2 million for the Internet sales tax fund, $269,000 for municipal fire protection, $3.75 million for airport improvement and $3.9 million for municipal road and bridge funds.
Capital funds projects include Kamper Park improvements at $2,360, the Hattiesburg Public Safety Complex at $11.8 million, the 2019 fire station construction at $946,000, and COVID fiscal recovery at $12.8 million.
The general fund, broken down, amounts to approximately $11.1 million for administrative costs, $14.1 million for police and academy, $10.3 million for fire, $13.2 million for public services and $3.9 million for transfers, among other measures.
