Hahs: A look at Jackson's 2025 budget

During the last Board of Aldermen meeting, a public hearing was held for the City of Jackson’s 2025 budget. After the public hearing, the Board of Aldermen voted to approve the 2025 budget.

The 2025 budget is a solid budget built on realistic revenue projections and a balanced expense budget. Major projects are being paid for from 2025 revenues, from surplus accounts built over the last few years, or from bonds or loans raised for the purpose of paying for multiyear major utility upgrades.

The 2025 City of Jackson budget includes:

$40 Million of revenue of which more than $24 million is billings for utilities. For 2025, the city is instituting an inflation level rate increase for water and wastewater, and the minimum charge increase only for electric utility services. An electric rate study is planned for 2025 to review future changes for the electric utility.

The expenses for our public safety departments, (police and fire) continue to be a major expense growing to $6.6 million. The spending is targeted to ensure our residents, homes, businesses and schools are safe.

Our employees will continue to have their personal insurance costs fully covered, and a decrease in family health insurance premium costs will be implemented. The city’s overall cost of health care insurance will stay level with last year.

Employee salaries will increase approximately 3%, and when combined with changes in pay level adjustments for certain positions, the city’s overall salary cost increase will be 4.5%. Pay level changes are the result of the salary and benefits study completed in 2024 to ensure the employee compensation model stays competitive.

American Rescue Plan funds spending will be substantially completed in 2025. A spending allocation of $3 million was completed during 2024.

The interest on surplus funds is planned to be $1.2 million, which will increase those funds amounts going forward.

In the area of quality of life, the sales, real estate and personal tax revenues specifically for the city parks provides for a $1.5 million spending plan for Parks and Recreation Department during 2025.

The budget enables the city to begin or complete all major initiatives identified from strategic planning sessions.

These initiatives include the wastewater plant renovation, the new water line on East Jackson Boulevard, the Deerwood roundabout, a new bridge on Sunset Drive, street lighting on East Jackson Boulevard, the East Main and Independence Street sidewalk projects and the completion of the fire station renovation.

I will continue to report next year on the progress of the city’s major initiatives and the performance against the 2025 budget.

Dwain Hahs is the mayor of Jackson.