Public safety, employee pay, MSP development are priorities in new Jefferson City proposed budget

Some changes may be in store for Jefferson City in the upcoming fiscal year budget.

This week, the city’s budget committee started meeting to work on fine-tuning the mayor’s approved budget for Fiscal Year 2018, which starts Nov. 1.

Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin told ABC 17 News her top priorities for the FY18 budget are public safety, city employees and redevelopment of the former Missouri State Penitentiary.

“This budget is very conservative, but it also does a good job of satisfying the needs in the community,” Tergin said. “Public safety is always something that is very important when it comes to the budget. … Employees and services are definitely a priority. There is a 2 percent included wage and salary adjustment in there.”

ABC 17 News has reported that the city did a compensation study late last year. One of the recommendations, a 2 percent raise across the board, will cost the city about $530,000 more in the coming year.

The mayor added $20,000 to the city staff’s proposed budget for MSP redevelopment after Gov. Eric Greitens signed a bill earlier this month turning over about 30 acres of state-owned MSP land to the city.

A couple of other changes in the budget proposal include about $275,000 more for the Jefferson City Police Department compared to the current year’s budget as of July 1.

The proposal also includes a nearly $1.4 million cut to the Jefferson City Fire Department compared to the current year. However, this comes after the department recently bought a large plot of land for a new fire station on the east side of the city and made a significant payment on its fire truck lease.

The city’s public works department may also see a nearly $400,000 cut compared to its current budget.

The budget committee will continue meeting through August, September and possibly October.

The City Council must approve the final budget before the new fiscal year begins Nov. 1.