The Meridian City Council on Friday opened the floor for residents to share feedback and concerns about the upcoming fiscal year 2024 budget as it works to finalize the plan before the Saturday deadline.

The city’s fiscal years run from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 each year, and the council must approve a budget before the new fiscal year starts.

The proposed budget shows the city plans to bring in and spend just over $47 million in the 2024 fiscal year, with $12.1 million going to the police department, $8.3 million to the fire department, $11.6 million to public works, $3 million to community development, $3.3 million to parks and recreation, $4.3 million to finance and records and $4 million to general government.

Heading into this year’s budget planning, the city administration presented the council with a budget with expenses approximately $9.4 million above projected revenues. Mayor Jimmie Smith previously announced a plan to raise police officer salaries by $5,000 and raise taxes to cover the cost.

Council members declined to increase taxes and instead opted to cut expenditures to match projected revenues. Unlike previous years, where the council made the cuts, the council opted to provide each department with a dollar figure calculated from the average percent from the last two years’ budgets that department received. It was then up to the department heads to figure out how to divide that up.

Ward 3 Councilman Joe Norwood Jr., who serves as council president, said the process had worked well.

“They’ve kind of already cut some stuff to work with the percentages we were talking about,” he said. “They should be good.”

The council, Norwood said, is still working on several large ticket items that the city expects to purchase in the next fiscal year, but the overall figure of $47 million will not change.

“We can’t change that number. It’s got to be $47 million,” he said. “But the thing that we can do is shuffle money around as long as that bottom line stays the same.”

One example is additional surveillance cameras to be installed around town, Norwood said. The city currently has a 5-year lease agreement with Mississippi Power for a camera network, which has provided police with valuable information on some cases. The system, however, has fallen far short of expectations.

Meridian Police Department in March presented a $470,000 proposal for a second camera system that would be owned, operated and monitored by MPD and incorporate license plate readers and other technology to supplement the video system.

While the money is there, Norwood said the council will hold on to the funding for the cameras, and other similarly large purchases, until it’s clear that all involved know what they’re planning to buy and why.

“It’ll be in the budget, but we’ll hold them from spending it until we get some further information,” he said. “But as far as the overall budget, that is $47 million. That’s not changing.”

The council and city administration is also working to clarify how approximately $940,000 in proceeds from timber sales can be used. Ward 2 Councilman Dwayne Davis said it was his understanding the money was earmarked for a dam project at Lakeview reservoir, but it is not clear if the funds can be used for that project.

Currently, the funds are deposited in the city’s water fund. City Attorney Will Simmons said the city will need to do some research to determine the asset history for the money to understand what restrictions are in place on spending the funds. If it’s listed as a general fund asset, he said, the city can spend it as it sees fit. If the money is a water fund asset, however, there are restrictions on how water fund dollars are used.

If the funding is a water fund asset, Norwood said the council will likely seek an attorney general’s opinion on spending the money for Lakeview. Attorney general’s opinions are not law, but they do provide some liability protection for municipalities if an expenditure is later determined to be ineligible.

The council will hold a work session at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday with further discussions about the budget likely, Norwood said. A meeting is planned for 9 a.m. Sept. 29 where the council is expected to vote to approve the final budget.