City Council: "No new taxes"

The Picayune City Council reported some good news for their citizens when City Clerk Amber Hinton announced that the budget for FY2019 will not require an ad valorem tax increase during Tuesday’s meeting.

During the council meeting, Mayor Ed Pinero opened a public hearing on the proposed $32.1 million budget to allow those present to ask questions about the budget. After Hinton stated the budget will not require a tax increase, Mayor Ed Pinero ask Hinton to repeat the news of no tax increase and he reiterated Hinton’s statement once himself to ensure all those present heard the news of no tax increase.

City Clerk Amber Hinton

Hinton provided a brief summary stating that the budget includes some capital projects that are already approved and also includes a 3 percent cost of living adjustment for all city employees excluding the mayor and council members. Hinton said the budget is pretty much the same as last years except for the few items she mentioned during her statement. Hinton said she anticipates a slight increase in sales tax.

During the public hearing, there were no questions posed to Hinton and the council members. Hinton said the budget will be adopted by the city council during their first meeting in September. Councilman Wayne Gouguet added a comment that the council can still make changes to the budget before finalizing and adopting the budget in the September meeting. Hinton concurred Gouguet’s comment and noted that the purpose of the meeting was to adopt the tax levy which will not increase as she stated earlier in the public hearing.

The $32.1 million budget would put $13 million toward the general fund, $951,473 into the special revenue fund, $1.3 million to the airport fund, $15 million to the enterprise fund, and $1.6 million toward debt service. The budget notes a starting cash balance of $8.747 million.