Poplarville’s City Hall and Police Department building may get needed repairs in the next fiscal year.

The Poplarville Board of Aldermen held another budget workshop Thursday, where Board members added building repairs for City Hall and the Police Department back into the proposed budget. The Board also committed to making no purchases of large items until January.

The Board still needs to cut $84,000 to balance the city’s proposed budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

City Hall needs some fascia board replaced, some window facings replaced and the window trim to be repainted, as some of the wood is rotting, said City Clerk Jane O’Neal. The repairs are estimated at $9,745. The Board also added replacement of the City Hall sign back into the budget, which would cost $1,500.

The west end of the police department building has issues with rot, so it also needs fascia board replaced and the building needs a new roof, said Police Chief Danny Collier. The estimated cost for those repairs is $21,390.
The Board discussed replacing the roof and leaving the other repairs for later in the fiscal year.

The Board took a proposed new police car out of the budget, since its members approved the purchase of a used police vehicle on Monday. The Board did discuss budgeting for another used police vehicle in the upcoming fiscal year.

The fire department’s uniform budget was increased to $500, as the department is over on its current uniform budget, said O’Neal. Board member Anne Smith asked what it would cost to add an additional firefighter to the budget. O’Neal estimated it would be at least $45,000. Both the police and fire departments are incurring a lot of part time labor costs, said O’Neal, so adding a firefighter might be something to consider.

The Board added a $1.50 increase in monthly garbage collection fees to the budget, which would bring $18,720 in city revenue. The city is operating garbage collection at a loss since the cost to the city increased in June. The fee increase has not been approved by the Board yet, but Mayor Rossie Creel asked for it to be added to the next meeting’s agenda.

Board member Shirley Wiltshire asked O’Neal to increase the city’s projected sales tax revenue by 5 percent.

The water fund budget was balanced, after a proposed new pickup truck was taken out of it.

The operating supply budget was increased by $6,311 to ensure there would be funds to repaint crosswalks on Main Street.

Before the budget workshop, the Board held a special called meeting to discuss economic development. The city’s TIF bond attorney Troy Johnston was present at the meeting to answer questions. Just after the Board opened that meeting, a motion was approved to enter executive session to discuss economic development. No motions were made after executive session.