Five of those positions will be in public works, and five will be in the police department, Doering said. With more houses, there are more meters to read and install and more service calls to respond to.
Doering said the city is also trying to do more work in house and contract out the work less to cut costs and save time on projects.
“[The] public works director and I were saying, if you’re going to replace a water line, you basically dig a ditch, put a pipe in it—not that hard. But in the past, the city didn’t have the personnel to do it, so we would have to contract. When you contract, if it’s over $50,000, you have to go out for public bids and the prices just go up,” Doering said.
With the growth in the city and to ensure there are police on both sides of the train tracks, the city entered into an economic development agreement June 14 with developer Gulf Coast Magnolia to have a city police substation on the east side of the city, according to Doering. There will be two officers on shift daily at the substation, and it will include offices, a kitchen and a restroom.
The timeline for the police substation is unknown as Gulf Coast has not provided a timeframe as of publication.
In addition, Finance Officer Beverly Standley said the public works department is adding three vehicles to its fleet, and the police department is adding four.
Magnolia’s proposed FY 2022-23 budget is an increase in general fund expenses of $1.26 million for a total expense budget of $5.69 million. General fund revenue is expected to increase by $2.83 million for a total revenue of $7.29 million, according to a budget draft by the city.
Doering said he is anticipating a “sizable decrease” in the tax rate because of the high assessed values this year, but the city is still waiting on the tax rolls from Montgomery County, which will be sent to the city in August.
The budget has to be approved Sept. 1.
