Clinton’s new budget expected to include significant pay raises

By Randy Bell    

Clinton leaders are working on a $23 million budget for the fiscal year, which begins October 1.  There will be no tax increase, and City employees could finally see their paychecks more in line with what other municipal workers in the metro area make.

“We are undertaking a project in this budget to re-base our salaries, to make them more market-competitive,” says Mayor Will Purdie.  “We currently have 77 per cent of our employees that are below the midpoint of the market for their respective jobs.” 

“I think it’s imperative as a City that we get those numbers up to enhance our ability to attract and retain talent,” said Purdie.  “As it sits now, if you look down the list at some of your lower-paid positions, you see tenures that are just abysmally short.”

Purdie says it’s hard to keep employees when they could make significantly more by working in another city.

“One of the problems is, we’ll get employees and train them up, then somebody hires them away.”

But the mayor says the City has enough money in the budget for FY27 to provide “meaningful” raises.  And the good news for taxpayers: “This budget, as it stands, has no tax or millage increases of any kind,” Purdie says.

While Amazon Web Services (AWS) hasn’t started paying its fee in lieu of taxes (FILOT) yet, the $1 billion data center under construction at the Clinton Industrial Park has already generated some funds for the City.   

According to the mayor, “There is revenue in this budget that we have received on the front end, in terms of building permits and things like that.  I think it was in the $2 million range.”

The FILOT payments could impact City spending in the future.

“The Amazon money, the yearly payments, will start in approximately another two budget years,” Purdie says.  “We’re projected to get, as we start out, $3-ish million a year in perpetuity.”

The FY27 budget is being assembled without the drama which accompanied last year’s discussions.  City leaders were blindsided by a $1 million budget shortfall for FY25, the result of incorrect information provided by Hinds County regarding car tag revenue and because of excessive fire department overtime.

City Clerk Jimmy Baldree says they’re wrapping up FY26 on a positive note.

“I’m happy to report that we’re in much better shape this year,” he says.  “The departments are on track to finish within their budgets.”

And Baldree says it looks like the fiscal year will end with money left over., “about $300,000 under what we had anticipated.”

As the mayor puts it, “I certainly feel very comfortable with this budget.  I think we’ve really broken it down to the nuts and bolts.”

With Purdie having been sworn in July of 2025, the FY 26 budget was his first as mayor.

“I’m happy with the product we put out last year, but certainly there were some last-minute surprises to getting it out,” he says.  “There’s much less of that this year.”

At the September 1 Board of Aldermen meeting, the City will officially set the tax levy for FY27 and will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget.  The Board will vote on the budget at its meeting on September 15.