Columbus leaders expected to adopt budget

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WTVA) – The Columbus City Council is expected to adopt its budget on Tuesday.

One of the major items will be the pay for the city’s police and firefighters.

Mayor Stephen Jones said each of the departments’ chiefs requested additional pay adjustments beyond the three percent raise that was planned for all city employees.

Jones said police pay changes remained in the budget to help recruit and retain officers. However, a similar proposal for firefighters did not move forward.

The mayor said discussions about firefighter pay became public before a final budget was approved, creating confusion and frustration for department employees.

Jones said city leaders must balance compensation with the city’s long-term financial stability.

“They agreed to do that at first, and then they came back on it,” Jones said. “That’s probably the reason why you don’t really say anything until it gets approved. You shouldn’t really put it out there until it gets approved because then you get these people’s hopes up and then you turn around and take it back.”

The mayor said he expects the budget to be approved without a tax increase and said the city should continue building reserves to allow the city to offer competitive pay to hire police and firefighters.