On Thursday, the Ways and Means Committee of the Pine Bluff City Council met to finalize the budget before it goes to the full council for a vote. The meeting was called by committee chair, Council Member Glenn Brown Jr.
The committee discussed several changes to the proposed budget including: Health Department: A decrease of $3,000 in the amount requested by the health department. This was approved despite concerns raised by some committee members about the potential impact on essential services.
Planning and Development: A salary adjustment for an employee who was incorrectly placed in the salary survey. The employee’s job responsibilities were not fully considered, leading to an inaccurate salary. The committee recommended correcting this by increasing the employee’s salary.
Public Works: A transfer of $50,000 to the Clean and Beautiful Commission. This change increased the allocation from the general fund and eliminated the need for an allocation from the Street Department fund.
Parks: An update to positions within the sub-departments of the Parks and Recreation Department. This involved eliminating a full-time position and increasing the number of part-time positions, resulting in a net increase of $32,234 in salaries. However, there were overall savings in insurance and retirement costs.
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[DOCUMENT: Read the worksheet report for the city’s 2025 budget » pbcommercial.com/113fiscal25/]
Administration: An allocation of $13,500 to the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Museum, which had not submitted its request in time for the initial budget.
City Attorney’s Office: A removal of a $3,600 telephone allocation request deemed unnecessary.
Human Resources: The reinstatement of an employee position previously removed from the budget.
After discussing these changes, the committee voted to approve the budget as a whole, with the understanding that the $117,011 difference resulting from the changes would be taken from carryover funds in early 2025. The budget will now go to the full council for a vote on Nov. 15.
The mayor’s budget anticipates a total revenue of $40,118,102 for 2025, with key revenue sources including:
City Sales Tax: $8,382,000;
County Sales Tax: $7,000,000;
Casino Gaming Tax from Saracen Casino: $5,000,000;
Property Taxes (5 Mil General Fund): $2,250,000.
The General Fund, which supports essential city services, shows a proposed revenue of $40,118,102 for 2025, an increase from the 2024 actual amount of $33,633,183.
Before the meeting ended Council Member Bruce Lockett voiced frustration over a lack of transparency regarding project budgets for Go Forward Pine Bluff, stating, “We never know what the budgeted amount for the project is, so we never know what dollars are being allocated.”
This concern arose from a reported $380,000 in unanticipated funds, which Lockett argued the council was unaware of. Financial Director Gina Devers clarified that while funds are transferred for different projects, the city doesn’t handle record-keeping once the money leaves their hands.
The debate highlighted a broader issue of project oversight, with Lockett questioning how projects can be scheduled for years in advance without allocated funding. Brown Jr. attempted to steer the conversation back to the meeting’s original purpose of finalizing the budget, emphasizing that further discussions would need to be tabled for a later date.