At a special Biloxi City Council meeting, council members reviewed the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 municipal budget, including a general fund projection of about $75.35 million and roughly $10.5 million in transfers earmarked for capital and infrastructure projects.

City staff presented a spreadsheet of revenue and expenditure projections and said the overall outlook was “pretty flat,” with some increases in specific categories and an unexpected shortfall in certain revenue lines. Staff noted a record year for gaming revenue in the most recent fiscal year and said they used a conservative forecast for next year based on year-to-date collections and anticipated seasonal months.

The presentation and council questions focused on three practical issues: the format and timing of budget documents for council review, the composition of the general fund and related proprietary funds, and the assumptions behind major revenue categories. Councilmember Tisdale requested more consistent revenue formatting and larger, easier-to-read handouts for future workshops, saying, “I would like for those documents that we received to be mailed to us in a PDF format.” He also asked that spreadsheets and Word documents be provided in their native formats so members can examine formulas and details ahead of meetings.

Staff explained that the stated general fund total includes transfers for capital projects and infrastructure: “There is ARPA money and infrastructure money in the general fund that is funding capital projects, and that is part of the total value,” a staff member said. Council members asked for a separate list of capital projects showing funding sources and amounts; Tisdale specifically asked that Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and FEMA infrastructure items be shown on single lines in that list.

Councilmembers and staff discussed several revenue lines in detail. Staff said gaming remains a major revenue source and reported a conservative projection used for FY26. The sales tax restructure was raised: staff said they converted prior-year figures to the new formula and found collections would be essentially unchanged under the new structure. Members also asked about a notable swing in a fee category related to SecureX and about lost rental income from the vacant second floor of the Luxe Library, which staff said is not rented at present and would require renovations before returning to service.

Other clarifications during discussion: the budget assumes lower investment interest income and projects reduced interest earnings if cash balances decline; a multi-year fire-truck order was noted as a timing item that will affect proceeds when the vehicle is received; and proprietary enterprise funds for the port and water/sewer are reported separately from the general fund and follow full-accrual accounting.

Councilmember questions also touched on the schedule and materials for upcoming budget workshops. Staff confirmed the annual audit will be presented next week and that a budget workshop was scheduled for next week at 1:30 p.m. The council approved the agenda items and the scheduling motion during the meeting.

The council did not adopt a final budget at this meeting; the session served to review assumptions, request clearer documents and project listings, and set follow-up workshops and presentations.