Public meeting tonight on city’s budget|Departments losing funds unfazed by proposed decreases

Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 27, 2009

Several Vicksburg department heads whose budgets will be reduced Oct. 1 said the cuts look deeper than they really are.

“We won’t be doing the public any harm at all,” said Fire Chief Charles Atkins Jr. of his department’s allocation — which will be down to $5.54 million next year, compared to $6.01 million from the current fiscal year.

Atkins said he had requested funding for a new fire truck and two ambulances, but it appears there will only be enough in the budget to cover one ambulance purchase. Nonetheless, the chief stressed training, personnel and response services will not be hampered.

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“It’s nice to have bright and shiny new things, but sometimes you have to wait on them,” he said.  

In departments seeing the largest cuts — which include recreation and landscaping — the personnel, supplies and services funds are receiving nearly level amounts, while capital expenses have been slashed.

Vicksburg operates on money from property taxes, a rebate of state sales tax and a local tax on revenue generated by the city’s five casinos. The proposed $31 million city spending plan is about $500,000 smaller than the current budget and is the first for Mayor Paul Winfield, who took office in July. It has several sharp changes in departmental funding from the Laurence Leyens administration, which ended June 20.

A little over half of the city’s 30-plus departments operating from the general fund saw their budgets trimmed. Chief of Staff Kenya Burks declined to discuss the cuts, but said those interested can get all their questions answered at tonight’s public hearing, which will take place at 7 in room 109 of the City Hall Annex. The Warren County’s Board of Supervisors has set a similar public hearing for county spending for 9 a.m. Sept. 8 at the courthouse on Cherry Street. Both begin new budget years Oct. 1 and neither has forecast an increase in general tax rates, including those for public schools.

The city’s landscaping department actually will see a slight increase in service spending — which pays for maintenance of the city’s many flower beds and beautification efforts that were a high priority during Leyens’ eight years at the helm — while the total budget will be reduced to $648,909 from $841,565 this year.

Joe Graves, who oversees the recreation department, said he’s determined to maintain all recreation programs in the coming year despite the $174,013 cut in his budget.

“All we can do is do the best we can with what we’ve got. We’re going to try to run the same programs we’ve run this year, and we’re still going to try to expand activities and services where we can,” he said.

The proposed recreation budget of $586,948 dedicates zero dollars to capital expenses. The budget for the current year is $760,961. Regardless, Graves said he hopes to be able to find about $25,000 to purchase two lightning and storm warning systems for Halls Ferry Park and the ball fields under construction off Fisher Ferry Road.

“We’re going to be OK,” he said. “We’d like to add some new things, but we’ve got to have the facilities to do that. Hopefully in the next couple of years if the economy gets where it needs to be we can add some programs and events we don’t have right now.”

Additional staffing in the mayor’s office and the legal department has ballooned those departments’ budgets by a combined $335,000. The mayor hired two administrative assistants shortly after taking office in July, and the legal department has taken on an extra employee in former Municipal Judge Walterine Langford, who was transferred back into the legal office after the mayor and aldermen appointed former City Attorney Nancy Thomas to take her place in the city court.

The police department — the city’s largest in funding terms — will see appropriations increase by about $193,000, to a total of $6,330,050. Included in the increases are 16 Taser stun guns, 20 Chevrolet Impala cruisers, four marked and unmarked Chevrolet Tahoes and two motorcycles.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com