Jackson City Council Finance Committee Meeting - March 27, 2026
Jackson City Council Finance Committee Meeting - March 27, 2026
The Finance Committee of the Jackson City Council met on March 27, 2026, to review revenue and expenditure data and begin the process of amending the fiscal year 2026 budget. The meeting, chaired by Councilwoman Clay, focused on using actual six-month data from FY26 to project the remainder of the year, identify inefficiencies, and improve transparency. Key participants included Finance Manager Brandon Jackson, CFO Jillian Caldwell, CAO Peter Taverson, and council members Foote, Parkinson, Grizzell, and Hartley.
Discussion Items
- Budget Amendment Process and Timeline: Chairwoman Clay advocated for amending the budget in one action before July, using actual revenue and expenditure data from the first six months of FY26 rather than historical FY25 numbers. CAO Taverson clarified that bond payments are heavier in the spring and summer, and that some departments had pre-spent their budgets expecting cuts. Councilman Parkinson requested a cash flow projection, which the administration agreed to provide.
- Revenue Analysis: Councilman Foote reviewed the FY25 year-to-date revenue report, identifying major streams: general property tax ($66.57M), sales tax ($31.96M), franchise fees, and interest. He noted that the applied fund balance ($6.37M) and operating transfers ($4.55M) are not true revenue. CAO Taverson suggested exploring new revenue sources such as streaming services to replace declining cable franchise fees.
- Expenditure Review and Oversight: The council examined the FY25 expense-by-division report. Planning and transportation overspent due to street light costs being misallocated. Right-of-way maintenance underspent significantly ($570K vs. $2M budgeted), which Councilman Parkinson noted as a misalignment with council intent. Councilman Grizzell raised concerns about vehicle misuse, cell phones still assigned to former employees, and redundant positions. CAO Taverson confirmed vehicle policies had been submitted to the mayor and that a cell phone audit was underway. CFO Caldwell noted that 33 redundant positions had been identified.
- Code Enforcement Budget: The $4.3M budget for code services (division 444) was questioned. Councilman Foote requested a line-item breakdown. Councilman Grizzell noted that the budget includes salaries for 20 officers but insufficient demolition funds. Councilman Hartley urged cross-training and stricter enforcement. CFO Caldwell provided a breakdown sheet showing $2.1M in personal services and $710K for demolition projects.
- Jackson Redevelopment Authority (JRA): Councilman Foote noted that $1.4M in the budget is for JRA bond payments and appropriations, and proposed auctioning JRA-owned properties to generate property tax revenue. Councilwoman Clay supported the idea with stipulations for local buyers and development timelines. CAO Taverson confirmed that JRA has been requested to appear at a separate committee meeting in April.
- Transparency and Future Meetings: Councilman Grizzell stressed the need for monthly in-person meetings and better transparency on budget transfers. CAO Taverson defended the administration's transparency but committed to improved reporting. The council agreed to meet weekly until May 1, with the administration providing projections, line-item breakdowns, and a bond schedule.
Key Outcomes
- Directed Administration to: Provide budget projections based on actual FY26 six-month data, including revenue and expenditure forecasts for the second half of the year.
- Requested Documents: Line-item breakdowns for code enforcement (division 444), a citywide bond schedule, fixed expense list, cash flow projection, and detailed reports on vehicle and cell phone usage.
- Identified Savings: 33 redundant positions were flagged; vehicle policies and cell phone audits are in progress. The council emphasized reducing fuel, cell phone, and vehicle costs.
- JRA Meeting: A separate committee meeting with JRA will be scheduled for April to discuss property management and revenue generation.
- Council Commitment: The council will meet weekly (in person or via working quorum) through May 1 to finalize budget amendments. Monthly finance committee meetings will continue thereafter.
- Audit Progress: The administration is working to complete two outstanding audits, and the auditor has been provided with necessary information.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, it's 10 o'clock, and we'll call the meeting to order the finance committee meeting for the City of Jackson City Council. Are there any announcements or comments? Okay. In this meeting, we're going to examine the information that's been provided for us in terms of revenue, expenditures, et cetera, and work toward amending our budget for um the month of May or April. And we don't have to amend our budget immediately. We just need to do it before July. So this is a work in progress, and I hope that the council will work toward amending the budget one time for the whole 23 or 30,000, whatever we have to amend, and based on what revenues and monies coming in. Thank you, uh, Chairperson Clay. To that, and this obviously is more than a 10% adjustment, whether we do just the first part or we do the first part in the second part. Um what is the legal requirement for there's public notice that would have to take place? Um even if we wanted to adjust this budget in part one, what's the what would be the timeline for how that can be done Brandon Jackson Finance Manager? Um with the advertisement, they would um require us to actually have you all vote on the notice as well. So the notice would be afterwards of us actually um approving. So we would let's say, for example, I'm not I'm not saying we would, but let's say we were going to do this at the next council meeting when we post the the agenda the Friday before or whenever to notice that the meeting was taking place. That's the only sort of notice that would be required in advance, and then if we were to pass it on that meeting, then you would have notice after the fact. Yes, sir. Okay. Because it would be your uh the statement of votes of how you all voted. Okay. Okay. Um within two weeks, excuse me. Okay, but at that point, the the vote would have already taken place. And obviously, you would set up the timeline for us. Most definitely. Okay. Whatever date it is in the future. Will you do a timeline based on us amending our budget the first of May and tell us where we gotta be based on the first of May? And then that way the first half of the year is gone. We can analyze all the numbers from the first six months, be prepared to do whatever we need to and make it final. And we will have gotten any money that we're gonna get from the legislature. We will have gotten the major taxes, we will have gotten everything, and it'll be a simple 50%, and we can figure out where we're heading. Last thing I'm gonna say, and then we're gonna open it up for start to work. May is the meeting that we're supposed to start working on formulating our policies for the budget. So while we are doing this, we can come up with ideas of how next year's information for the budget will be presented to the council. Go ahead and get our calendar for the whole time from May to August. So by then we'll have everything in place, so we'll be working hand in hand with current numbers. Uh Chairwoman Clay may ask a question. Uh, and thank you so much for sending over all the documents that were sent over. It was uh helpful to be able to go through review. Um I want to make sure I'm understanding it correctly. A lot of it seems to be relying on fund balance. Is that an accurate interpretation of the numbers we saw Jillian Caldwell CFO? The numbers represented in the the um information we provided on yesterday are from the the FY25. Most of these packets are from the FY25 revenues and expenses, so that you can see where we landed last year on these amounts. And so we're not using these to um, so we are using these to help us see where we should be currently. We're using the revenues that were received last year to adjust the current year's budget, and we're using the expenses from the divisions for last year to put them back at those amounts instead of the overstated amounts. Are you finished, Mr. Parkinson? Yes, ma'am. Okay, so what I'm asking you to do is the six months that we've gotten this year, use those numbers and let's project the next six months.
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