Jackson’s Town Council last week approved a final draft of the town’s budget for fiscal year 2021, which begins July 1st. After more than ten hours of deliberation, Town Council reached consensus on various cuts to create a balanced budget. Discussions focused on the expected loss of revenue due to COVID-19 as well as the challenge of ever-increasing costs for providing services. Reductions in the budget include a decrease in capital expenditures and substantial reductions in departments and core programs services below fiscal year 2020 levels. The largest decreases are to be in Fire/EMS, Police, Public Works, and START Bus. There will not be any layoffs at this point, but some open positions will not be filled. The significant cuts are being made to account for a projected downturn in sales and lodging tax of 50% or $7.5-million in the coming year, due to the SARS CoV2 epidemic. Council will vote on adopting the budget at its regular meeting next Monday.
