Moss Point budget vote

Moss Point Mayor Mario King and the board of aldermen voted on the city’s final budget today. Many thought the fire chief position would be eliminated, but that’s not the case.

“Why would you do that to your citizens. If you are really concerned about what they are doing when they are here to try and support you?”  Tensions were high at Moss Point City Hall regarding budget concerns until residents heard Fire Chief Tommy Posey would keep his position.

Mayor Mario King tells News 25 he took the opinions of the community into consideration when making this decision. “Our overall budget was about everyone. We didn’t want to cut any positions. So, the board challenged me and I stepped up to the challenge and did what I had to do.”

Moss Point residents were relieved when they found out Fire Chief Tommy Posey did keep his position. However, Mayor Mario King did eliminate one position and increased utility rates. Moss Point residents can see that change in their bills 30 days from now. “We had the opportunity to increase that. That was one of my recommendations. So, with that the board challenged me, look if we do that then why do we have to get rid of the positions.”

Moss Point Alderman at Large David Chapman said, “In the event that, if we had to raise taxes, that would have been a double impact on our taxpayers. So, we eliminated one, but we had to make some adjustments for the utilities.”

The budget also caps a lot of spending on things like gas, oil, and overtime pay for workers in the fire department. Some members of the fire department are also concerned about being switched to salary pay. “It’s going to be a lean system and a lean operation which is how government should be. We are not cutting any services and that’s what most important,” said Mayor King.