The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved 127 budget amendments Friday, closing the books on fiscal 2012.

The board is expected to approve the city’s 2013 budget next week. The budget must be approved by Sept. 15 under state law. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The budget amendments were the final group in a series of amendments made during August as the city prepared to close out its fiscal year. The the net total from the changes was a $1.27 million increase, raising the final fiscal 2012 budget from $29.05 million to $30.06 million, with a $226,078 fund balance.

During a public hearing Thursday night, city officials had said the budget for the upcoming fiscay year is expected to be $28.89 million.

The amendments approved Friday included a series of changes in the city’s revenues and expenses, including a $200,000 increase in sales tax revenues from $7.2 million to $7.4 million.

Also included is a $660,000 loss in income from real estate sales, which represents the loss of payments from the Grand Station Casino, which closed in March.

Delta Investments and Development, which bought the casino from Tropicana Entertainment in 2011, has filed from for bankruptcy.

Under an agreement Delta inherited from Tropicana, the city was to receive $562,940 a year plus 1.5 percent of the casino’s net revenues until Oct. 13, 2033, for 2.95 acres of the public boat launch area at City Front.

Among the amended expenses were significant increases in personnel costs for the city’s ambulance service and the police department.

City accountant Doug Whittington said several city departments saw rises in personnel costs because of increases in health insurance costs and the city’s contribution to the Public Employees Retirement System.

“PERS increased the city’s contribution from about 12.93 percent to about 14.24 percent — that’s about a 10 percent increase,” he said.

The ambulance service’s increases for personnel totaled $385,000, which fire Chief Charles Atkins said was for overtime and retirement.

“We have 18 people covering three shifts,” he said. “If one does not report for work, we either pull a paramedic off one of the fire trucks or hold a paramedic from a previous ambulance shift.”

The police department’s budget amendment totals $280,000, also for overtime and retirement. Deputy police chief Mitchell Dent said the department has 69 officers and is authorized for 81. Police Chief Walter Armstrong had proposed hiring more officers during budget talks with the board in early August.

Another police department budget amendment was a $103,000 reduction in its capital account that was set aside for new cars. The department was budgeted for 12 cars, but bought six during 2012.

On the agenda

Meeting Friday, the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen:

• Declared an emergency at the Vicksburg Police Department to repair or replace the air conditioning system at the police station. Declaring an emergency allows the city to repair the problem without having to go through the bid process.

Deputy Chief Mitchell Dent said the department has had problems with the building’s system throughout the summer.

“It’s a problem with the coils and one outside unit,” he said. “They’ve been breaking down all summer. We’ve either got to fix them or replace them.”

• Approved the promotion of Vicksburg police investigator Sgt. Beverly Prentiss to lieutenant. A 30-year veteran of the police department, Prentiss works on domestic violence cases.

• Authorized Mayor Paul Winfield to write U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson for help in getting a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development allowing the city to participate in the First Time Homebuyers Program, which assists people buying a home for the first time with down payments.

Winfield said the 2010 Census put Vicksburg’s population below the minimum number to qualify for the program.

“We need that waiver to be able to continue helping first-time homebuyers,” he said.

• Authorized Winfield to sign the Mississippi River Pledge commitment statement.

He said the city is participating in a consortium of cities along the Mississippi River From Natchez north. He said the group is meeting in St. Louis in mid-September.

• Approved requests of $825 each from the police and fire departments to host a lunch in appreciation of AmeriCorps and FEMA Corps workers.

• Approved adding police department employee Shirley Lindstrom to the city driving list. Dent said Lindstrom works at the front desk at the police station, adding she has to occasionally attend classes, which require her to drive a city car.