The city of Meridian is looking to cover a revenue gap of $1.2 million as it works to balance a budget by the end of September, city leaders said Tuesday.

Some options include removing more unfilled funded positions from the budget and making cuts to travel, training and some facility and equipment costs, Chief Administrative Officer Richie McAlister said.

Leaders have also discussed saving money by patching the roof of the Meridian Activity Center, instead of immediately replacing it, and delaying air conditioning repairs to the Frank Cochran Center.

A possible tax increase is still on the table.

An increase of 2.5 mills would be the equivalent of approximately $25 more per year on a home valued at $100,000, McAlister said. 

The city has not had a tax increase in more than 10 years, according to city leaders. 

“With no increase in revenue, there’s going to have to be a tax increase because you just can’t make it otherwise,”  said city councilman George Thomas, who represents Ward 1. “We’re just facing a deficit right now to even maintain the level of services that we’ve had in the past.”

The current draft of the budget includes funding for 93 sworn police positions, according to McAlister. 

Meridian Police Chief Benny Dubose said he would settle for 96 positions, but would like to get to 105 because he is short six investigators and also short-handed on patrol.

Some officers are being asked to come in on their days off to cover shifts, he said. 

“I can’t afford to move someone from an already depleted patrol source to investigations. I need fresh bodies to put in patrol through the hiring process,” Dubose said. 

The department has 83 sworn officers, according to the city.

“We would like to have as many police officers as possible,” McAlister said. “In the end, we’ve got to have the bodies that we have the ability to pay for, and so with 93 officers, no, it’s not ideal, but it’s a number that can be supported with the revenue that we have incoming.”

City leaders are also looking at increasing costs for city employees’ health insurance dependent coverage.

One option would raise the monthly premium for dependent coverage by 5%; another option would include the same 5% increase but would also raise the deductible by $100, from $500 to $600, McAlister said.   

The next budget discussion is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Sept. 5.