Biloxi mayor vetoes council plan, saying he’s working for one city, not seven
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mayor vetoes council plan, saying ward-based fund control illegal under Biloxi govt.
- Gilich cites Mississippi mayor–council law and grant limits that govern fund spending.
- Mayor urges unified citywide infrastructure approach to avoid audits and repayments.
Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Friday vetoed a city council vote saying he is committed to working with the council to move Biloxi forward as “one city, not seven different ones.”
The system the council adopted on Tuesday is illegal under Biloxi’s form of government and not allowed under many grant programs, Gilich said in a statement explaining why he vetoed Resolution 55-26.
The council’s plan would create project accounts for each of the seven wards and divide the money that comes from Mississippi Department of Revenue evenly between the wards.
The resolution passed by a 4-3 vote with councilmen Wayne Gray, Anthony Marshall, Mike Nail and Paul Tisdale voting in favor. Councilman David Shoemaker, Jamie Creel and Kenny Glavan voted against and suggested a work session to talk about the issues.
To override the veto takes two-thirds of the council members present. If all council members are present and nobody changes their vote, the veto would stand.
Marshall said the council members are the ones who hear directly from residents when something needs to be done in their wards. “What we’re trying to do now is bring it to fruition where we as the council members can have more direct input,” he said. “We’re not trying to tell the city administration what to do, but we are going to make sure that is done equally and fairly.”
While the council may have had good intentions, Gilich said in his statement, funding allocations by ward in not allowed under the Mississippi Mayor-Council form of government.
Under Biloxi’s form of government, the council approves budgets and laws, and the mayor is responsible for managing how funds are spent, he said.
State infrastructure funds come with regulations that determine how the money can be used. Dividing those funds by ward does not meet state requirements, he said, and could expose the City to audit issues or possibly having to repay the grant.
The veto was based on two issues: The individual accounts would allow “each council member to have funding for repairs,” and funds received from the Mississippi Department of Revenue under the Mississippi Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2018 be placed into those ward accounts for current and future distributions through June 30, 2029, which is the end of the council’s term.
“We’re not saying no to improvements,” Gilich said. “This is about making sure we follow the law, protect the City’s financial stability and make decisions that benefit all of Biloxi.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 2:59 PM.
