Biloxi councilman warns of further police budget cuts after $1.8 million reduction
BILOXI - At the Biloxi City Council's regular meeting Aug. 5, the councilman, identified during the meeting as Mr. Marshall and representing Ward 2, said the police chief had already warned the city would not be able to maintain full services next year. "We have a police chief that sat up here and has told us that we're going not going to be able to provide the full services that we need to provide next year," he said. "They made it this year because we took $1.8 million from them last year and the cuts this year is going to make it so that it's hard to even provide the services for our seniors."
The councilman's remarks came during the Ward 2 report portion of the meeting. He also raised concerns about the condition of public buildings, the potential closure of libraries, and a proposal that could route some 911 calls to video rather than direct response, according to the meeting record.
The disclosure came from a sitting council member speaking on the record about public spending on police services, raising questions about the city's budget priorities that residents may want addressed as the council considers further cuts this year. The councilman's broader claims — about neglected libraries, parks, and a police and fire building — were not detailed further in the meeting record reviewed, and would require comparison with the city's budget documents to assess.