City unambiguously states: “This increase means that you will pay more taxes on your home, automobile tag, utilities, business fixtures and equipment, and rental real property.”
OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (GC Wire) — Ocean Springs City Clerk Christine Millard is recommending a tax increase for real estate, utilities, and car tags while simultaneously recommending pay raises for Mayor Bobby Cox and members of the Board of Aldermen. The recommendations are part of Millard’s proposed FY2027 budget, which will be considered during a public hearing Tuesday.
In a memo addressed to Cox and the Board, Millard is asking elected officials to increase the city’s General Fund property tax rate by one mill, approve sweeping pay raises and bonuses for city employees, as well as a separate recommendation to raise the pay for elected officials.
The proposed tax increase and raises come as Ocean Springs projects lower overall revenue and faces several financial pressures.
Millard says general sales tax collections are running about $200,000 below last year, retirement costs are increasing, and the city’s bill from the Jackson County Utility Authority has jumped nearly a million dollars.
The city’s legally required public newspaper notice is unambiguous about what Millard’s millage recommendation means for residents. The headline reads in all capital letters: “NOTICE OF A TAX INCREASE.”
The published legal notice specifically states, “This increase means that you will pay more in ad valorem taxes on your home, automobile tag, utilities, business fixtures and equipment, and rental real property.”
In her memo, Millard calls the proposed tax hike a “thoughtful adjustment.”
But the documents supporting her recommendation contain several numbers that warrant a closer look.
More Property Taxes, Less Overall Revenue
Ocean Springs is projecting less total revenue for FY2027 while expecting property taxpayers to contribute more.
The city’s current budget projects total revenue of $19,695,103. The proposed FY2027 figure is $19,368,982, a decline of about $326,000.
At the same time, projected ad valorem revenue increases from $6,244,655 to $6,623,358, an increase of $378,703.
According to the city’s legal notice, property taxes account for 32 percent of projected revenue under the current budget. Under Millard’s proposed budget, that share increases to 35 percent.
Millard reports that general sales-tax collections are about $200,000 lower than last year, but collections from the city’s 2 percent food-and-beverage tax are running about $25,000 per month higher.
If that $25,000 monthly increase continued for a full year, it would represent roughly $300,000 in additional food-and-beverage tax collections.
So while general sales tax collections are declining, another significant local tax is performing substantially better.
Overall projected revenue is nevertheless falling, and Millard’s recommendation is to collect more from property taxpayers.
Clerk’s Math Does Not Add Up
Millard’s memo states her recommended one-mill increase would generate another $273,046 for the city. In the same paragraph, she provides taxpayers with an example of what that increase would mean.
According to Millard’s memo:
“This adds about $20 per year to a taxpayer with a $200,000 assessed value of property.”
But that arithmetic does not work as written. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value.
In reality, one mill on the $200,000 assessed value stated in Millard’s memo is $200, not $20. Her calculation is off by a factor of ten.
Millard Also Recommends Pay Raises
While recommending higher property taxes and identifying significant financial pressures, Millard is also recommending increased compensation.
City employees would receive a 2.9 percent cost of living adjustment (COLA), an additional 1 percent increase on their employment anniversaries, and service recognition bonuses at five-year intervals.
Millard also specifically recommends raises for the city’s elected officials.
Her Recommended Motion #2 asks the Board to approve the new employee pay scale and specifically states a 2.9 percent COLA for Mayor Bobby Cox. Recommended Motion #3 asks the Board to approve a separate 2.9 percent COLA for the aldermen.
The elected officials who will decide whether to adopt Millard’s recommended property tax increase will also decide whether to accept the raises she recommends for them.
Is the City Attorney Getting a $20k Raise?
Another proposed budget line raises a separate question.
City Attorney David Harris’ current contract pays $12,000 per month, or $144,000 annually.
The proposed FY2027 budget contains $164,130 under the line item “ATTORNEY FEES – CITY CONTRACT.”
That’s $20,130 more than Harris’ current annual contractual compensation. The proposed budget itself does not explain what the additional funds are intended to pay for.
GC Wire asked Millard what accounts for the additional $20,130 in the “City Contract” line, whether it represents a contemplated increase in Harris’ compensation or whether the line includes some other attorney expense.
Millard did not respond by publication.
A Million Dollar Increase at JCUA
One number in Millard’s explanation stands well above the others.
She says the city’s bill from the Jackson County Utility Authority is $935,000 higher than the previous year.
For comparison, Millard says the entire one-mill property-tax increase she recommends would generate an additional $273,046.
The increase in the JCUA bill alone is therefore more than three times the amount Millard says would be generated by raising property taxes.
Her memo does not provide a detailed explanation for the nearly $1 million increase.
That leaves one of the most significant questions surrounding the proposed budget: How did Ocean Springs’ JCUA bill increase by nearly $1 million in a single year?
There Is a No-Increase Option
The documents prepared for the budget process also show that increasing the General Fund millage is not the only resolution available to the Board.
One draft resolution implements Millard’s recommendation. It increases the General Fund levy from 23.05 to 24.05 mills and establishes a combined city and school levy of 95.97 mills.
But the city also prepared a second resolution for consideration.
That version keeps the General Fund levy at 23.05 mills and establishes a combined levy of 94.97 mills.
In other words, it does not include the one-mill General Fund increase.
Millard’s memo recommends the higher tax version. The final decision rests on the Board of Aldermen.
Cox Once Passed on His Own Raise
The proposed elected-official raises present an interesting contrast for Mayor Bobby Cox.
Years before becoming mayor, Cox served as alderman at large.
When elected officials were scheduled to receive an annual 3% raise while city employees weren’t getting one, Cox made a motion to give his up.
“I would like to see us pass on our 3 percent raise until we can give the employees a raise,” Cox said at the time.
His explanation was simple:
“I just feel it’s the right thing to do.”
The circumstances aren’t identical today. Under Millard’s proposal, city employees would also receive raises.
But Cox will again face the question of whether elected officials should increase their own compensation. This time, that decision will come at the same meeting where Millard is also recommending that the Board increase taxes on residents.
Opportunity For Residents To Urge Them To Vote No
Ocean Springs residents get their chance to weigh in Tuesday.
The city’s published notice says any citizen may attend the 6 P.M. hearing, speak for a reasonable amount of time, and offer opinions before the Board votes.
There are plenty of questions to choose from:
- How did the JCUA bill increase by $935,000?
- Why is general sales-tax revenue down $200,000 and why are residents expected to pick up the slack?
- What is the additional $20,130 in the “Attorney Fees – City Contract” budget intended to pay for?
- And why, while recommending that residents pay more in property taxes, is Millard also recommending raises for the mayor and aldermen?
Or, residents could simply walk up to the podium and say:
“Don’t raise my taxes.”
