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Town Council adopts FY 2026 budget, approves final FY 2025 amendment and sets property mills at 0.5
Summary
After a public hearing, the council adopted the Town of Jackson fiscal year 2026 budget and approved a final amendment to the FY2025 budget. Town staff noted the FY26 property tax rate set by the town will be 0.5 mills; the council also approved a staff request to return for ongoing strategic budgeting work.
The Town Council on June 16 held the statutorily required public hearing and then adopted the Town of Jackson’s fiscal year 2026 budget and approved the fourth amendment to the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Town Manager Taylor Sinclair and Finance Director Kelly Thompson summarized the process and the changes. Sinclair told the council that the town has been discussing the budget since April in workshops and that state statute requires adoption by the third Tuesday in June. Staff emphasized the budget is amendable during the year through quarterly revisions.
The amended FY2025 items included line items previously discussed by council such as the license plate reader (LPR) program, audiovisual upgrades for council chambers, Gregory Lane stormwater and capital items, additional IT services requests and a compensation adjustment to reflect lower-than-expected vacancy rates. Staff said the town had budgeted for a double‑digit vacancy but actual vacancies were lower, requiring additions to the wage/compensation line. The amendment also accounted for higher prisoner expenses at the county jail. Offsetting revenues for Gregory Lane included the use of a specific‑purpose excise tax and other grant offsets; specific dollar figures for those offsets were not read into the record at the hearing.
Sinclair and Thompson said the proposed FY2026 budget sets the town‑assessed property tax at 0.5 mills, consistent with recent years. After brief public comment (none offered on the night of the vote) the council voted to adopt the FY2026 budget and to approve the FY2025 amendment. The votes were unanimous.
Council members praised staff for extended outreach during the budget process and said they would continue longer‑range strategic budgeting work later in the year. Council discussion noted that investing in staff retention and realistic vacancy assumptions had reduced recruitment and turnover costs compared with prior projections. The council directed staff to continue strategic budget work and to present additional priority and long‑range options during the coming months.
