Jackson Finance Committee Budget Briefing - August 10, 2026
Jackson Finance Committee Meeting Summary - August 10, 2026
The Jackson City Council Finance Committee met on August 10, 2026, at 2:00 PM to review proposed budgets for the Department of Administration, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the Mayor's Office, and the City Attorney. Committee members discussed staffing levels, vacant positions, personnel cost multipliers, technology improvements, and savings initiatives. No formal votes were taken; presentations were received for further deliberation.
Discussion Items
- Department of Administration (CFO Julian Caldwell): The proposed FY27 budget is $4.37 million, a $1.8 million reduction from the FY26 budget of $6.17 million. The largest cost drivers are personnel and contractual services (primarily the audit). An org chart showed seven divisions (controller, budget, treasury, director of administration, fiscal operations, purchasing, municipal court services) and approximately six finance managers. Several vacant positions are considered critical and being filled. The office expects to save $1.3 million from reduced staffing. The CFO reported that utility account reviews identified non-existent or no longer needed accounts, such as the leveled Tisdale Library, leading to savings. Interest revenue from JP Morgan Chase has increased to ~$180,000/month (up from $15,000–$17,000). The FY24 audit is expected to be completed by end of August 2026. The city has improved spending controls by designating two individuals per department authorized to move funds, reducing from 120+ people.
- Chief Administrative Officer (Peter Taylorson): The CAO's office proposed a flat budget from FY26, keeping three vacancies unfilled (two assistant CAOs and one office coordinator). Taylorson emphasized leading by example and noted the need for at least one of those vacancies to be restored for redundancy. He highlighted the potential for technology and AI to right-size government, citing examples like park reservation systems and special event permits that remain manual. The city spends ~$2.2 million annually on software.
- Mayor's Office (Mayor Horn): The proposed budget totals $811,000, a $120,000 reduction (~16%) from the current year, with 94% for personnel. The office includes the mayor's office proper (~$689,000) and the Violence Prevention Division (~$122,000). Positions include special assistant, receptionist, constituent services, and a faith-based coordinator for violence prevention programs.
- City Attorney (Drew Martin): The department's finance-recommended budget is $10.39 million; Martin requested a revised $11.3 million (approx. $900,000 more) to account for step raises and unfilled positions. He noted that staff are underpaid compared to neighboring jurisdictions. The office maintains ~130 litigation cases (down from 155) and is looking to add AI tools (Westlaw Co-Counsel, PACERPRO, IMANage) to automate clerical tasks. Major budget items include $1.9 million property insurance, $1.7 million workers' comp, $1.9 million tort claims fund (statutory), $380,000 for lobbyists, and $240,000 for a public defender contract expiring this year. Martin proposed repurposing vacant administrative slots to create a public records expert and an investigator for blight/nuisance cases.
Key Outcomes
- The committee will continue budget discussions in subsequent meetings. The grants presentation was postponed to the next day (Wednesday, August 11, 2026).
- An executive session on personnel matters was deferred to the following day's work session.
- The committee requested that future presentations include full org charts with salary, funding source, vehicle, and phone assignments.
- The CAO and City Attorney each emphasized the need for technology investments (AI, software) to reduce manual processes and improve efficiency.
- The City Attorney noted that upcoming pay plan amendments and contract renewals would be brought before the council.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good afternoon. We are calling together the finance committee meeting. It is two o'clock PM on Monday, August 10th, 2026. Yeah, an opening. I just wanted to uh recognize uh our clerk of counsel for a birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Yes. Awesome. Well, long time no C. We are back again. Excited to hear me or number. All right. Is that any better? Okay, thank you very much. I appreciate that. All right. Well, um, without further delay, uh, I will turn it over and we will begin the presentations. Julian Caldwell, CFO. My paper. So um I will be presenting the budget for the Department of Administration. And the CFO's budget is separate from the Department of Administration, but I'm pretty much the only employee in that division. So I serve as the director um for the department of administration, so I will cover that budget as well. So as far as as far as the mission statement for the Department of Administration, the mission of the City of Jackson's Department of Administration is to provide effective, efficient, transparent, and accountable administrative leadership and support that strengthens city operations and enables every department to deliver high quality services to the citizens of Jackson. We are committed to responsible stewardship of public resources, sound financial management, operational excellence, strong internal controls, professional workforce support, and compliance with applicable laws and policies. Through collaboration, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement, the Department of Administration serves as a foundation for effective government and works to ensure that the city is positioned for sustainable growth and a stronger quality of life for all who live, work, and invest in the city of Jackson. As for the budget at a glance, our proposed budget totals four point thirty-seven million dollars. And um most of my um department is for personnel services and contractual services. So my largest budget drivers are for staffing, and my um main contract is for the audit. Within my department, I have seven divisions. Um they comprise they're comprised of the controller's office, the budget office, treasury, director of administration office, fiscal operations, purchasing, and municipal court services. And the largest division is municipal court services. It um it takes care of all of the court services, the um the staff that are working with the citizens as well as uh the judges are part of that budget. The FY26 um budget was came in at 6.17 million, and the proposed 4.3 million FY27 budget is a reduction of 1.8 million dollars. And as I stated, it's primarily personnel services and other services and charges. Um there a way you can uh email it as part of our slide presentation is is cut off. It's already emailed. Okay, thank you. Okay. If I may, I'll switch over to my org chart now to kind of give a uh overview of how we're staffed in my department. So um starting from the top, you have the chief financial officer and then the deputy direct the deputy chief financial officer. Um from there, we have an executive office coordinator, um, a deputy director of administration that's currently vacant, and the fiscal officer. The managers over each area that I previously um spoke of, they are there are six managers, and they're primarily responsible for all of the city's financial management um tasks and responsibilities. We have a we also have a liaison who is responsible for communicating with other departments and helping us um understand their needs so that we can properly budget for any um any things that that we're not already aware of Mr. President, please, yes, Mr. I just wanted to uh just follow up here. Which are those six positions on the fourth roll down? You have uh seven positions. Is that what you're yes sir? On that row, the fourth row, yes, it starts off with the liaison.
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