Ellisville approves 2023-2024 budget

ELLISVILLE, Miss. (WDAM) - The Ellisville Board of Aldermen approved a budget of roughly $14 million for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

“That is an increase, but a lot of that’s due to some of the ARPA funds that we’ve already received so having to budget that into (the budget),” Mayor Lynn Buckhaults said.

Some highlights include a 5 percent raise for all full-time city employees and several infrastructure projects.

“We’re like any other small municipality,” Buckhaults said.. “(The) infrastructure is old. It’s wore out and it’s (got) problems, but we are trying to replace that as we go and then we can black top the streets on top of that,”

A mixture of American Rescue Plan Act funds and increased revenues will fund these improvements, Buckhaults said.

“We were able to add in some of our capital outlay, some revenue that we have been able to accumulate in our water department and our street department to help complete some of these projects we are doing,” Buckhaults said.

Additionally, Ellisville homeowners should not see an increase in their ad valorem taxes this year.

“The value of a mill has gone up, but our millage rate has stayed the same, which has helped us get some of the revenue that we will be expecting to get to continue the work that we are doing,” Buckhaults said.

The City of Ellisville also recently has seen an increase in sales tax revenues.

“We’ve had, probably, each time for the last several checks that we’ve gotten, there’s been an increase.,” Buckhaults said. “The last one we got was more than the City of Ellisville has ever collected. So, our sales tax is up, no doubt.”

Buckhaults said sales tax revenue increases can be linked to more businesses moving into the City of Ellisville and inflation.

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