The city of Meridian is set to spend approximately $55.4 million in the 2025 fiscal year after the City Council on Tuesday approved an annual budget. Despite the approval, council members said they have reservations about the lack of concrete numbers provided by the city and are concerned the figures they voted on will later change.
Councilman George Thomas said the council has to pass a budget for the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, but content revisions to the data make it hard to have confidence the figures are correct.
“As of 9:57 a.m. today, we have not received the same budget twice,” he said in a special called meeting to approve the budget Tuesday.
Thomas said things he had advocated for, including a decrease in millage to account for higher property values and $1,000 raises for all city employees, were not included in the proposed budget either.
Councilman Joe Norwood Jr. said the budget council members were asked to pass was just presented to them prior to the meeting.
“We just got the sixth version of the budget right before we were supposed to vote on it,” he said.
Chief Financial Officer Brandye Latimer said the city implemented a new budgeting software in June and has been running into some problems including fringe benefits — health insurance, retirement, etc. — for temporary workers. The city is working to get its employees set up for a training to better use the software, she said, but it will be October before that can take place.
With a lack of confidence in the numbers, Norwood said his suggestion is for the council to fund the city’s departments at the levels they requested but hold some money for large purchases and projects back until it can get a better idea of the city’s finances. Under his proposal, he said, the council would allocate $50 million for the city to operate with initially.
“The remaining money we move into legislative until we can discuss this budget further,” he said.
Norwood said a breakdown of the budget under his proposal includes:
— $2.3 million, or 4.6% of the budget, for executive use.
— $350,000, or 0.7%, for judicial.
— $150,000, or 0.3%, for civil service.
— $8.95 million, or 17.9%, for Meridian Fire Department.
— $4.6 million, or 9.2%, for finance and records.
— $3.5 million, or 7%, for community development.
— $3.85 million or 7.5% for parks and recreation.
— $12.95 million, or 25.9%, for public works.
— $12.2 million, or 24.4%, for Meridian Police Department.
— $1 million, or 2%, for legislative.
That would leave a total of $5,391,714 to be held in the legislative special projects fund to be distributed later in the year, he said.
Councilwoman Romande Walker, who serves as council president, said she was uncomfortable immediately voting to pass Norwood’s plan. While the council complained about the lack of time to review the city’s budget, Norwood’s numbers were just as new, she said.
“I haven’t seen his stuff either,” she said.
Norwood’s proposal, however, was seconded by Councilman Dwayne Davis and passed with Councilwoman Ty Bell Lindsey joining in voting yes. Walker vote against the motion, and Thomas voted present.
Thomas said the council will need to move forward with returning the reserved funds to departments quickly as holding the money will delay buying needed equipment and postpone projects.
In other business, a heated exchange between Walker and Lindsey ended with Lindsey leaving the meeting early. Both councilwomen accused the other of talking over one another and being disrespectful.
The disagreement ended with Walker calling for security to be ready to remove Lindsey if her outbursts continued, to which Lindsey left of her own volition.