Harlan Kirgan
The St. Landry Parish Council added a package of amendments to Parish President Bill Fontenot’s budget that are intended to save more than $500,000 by next December.
And, there are other budget items to create $1.4 million in budget savings, but they require additional Council action.
The budget was declared balanced and ready for introduction and adoption in January.
Parish government has a general fund budget of about $5.3 million.
At a special meeting Wednesday in Opelousas, Council member Harold Taylor explained the amendments to the budget, which is initially prepared by Parish President Bill Fontenot.
“As you know we were faced with about an $800,000 hole in the budget for next year,” Taylor said.
Taylor attributed the budget shortfall to rising inmate costs and capital improvements “and areas such as that.”
“We are presently housing, as of yesterday, 50 inmates off campus at three or four facilities to the tune of about $400,000 a year,” Taylor said.
“We met with Mr. Fontenot Monday and went over some areas of the budget,” he said.
“What we discovered ... we have an obligation through the bond commission to set aside $900,000, which is $300,000 a year against a million and half borrowed every year for cash flow,” he said.
Parish government has opened up a $1.5 million line of credit to bridge the gap between its expenses and revenues collected at the first of the year.
The budget amendments include “account sweeps” totalling $210,073.
The proposed account savings are: reduce the Parish Council clerk’s overtime to $2,500 from $5,000; reduce Council travel from a budget item of $22,000 to $10,000; use Delta Grand funds to save about $10,700 in general fund costs; remove $30,529 from the off track betting revenue; remove $125,454 from the video poker fund.
The proposed budget also cuts $175,000 earmarked to repair the roof of the Community Action Agency building in Opelousas.
The cuts along with allowing a contingency fund to grow would equal a savings of $508,942 by the end of December 2019.
Taylor said meetings have been held with the sheriff, district attorney and indigent defender to discuss the parish’s budget problem.
Potential savings were identified as: place ankle bracelets on 45 inmates for a savings of $156,356; save $26,864 by having the city of Opelousas to pay its trusty costs; save $82,112 by increasing booking fees from $14.50 to $50; save $24,000 by using a telecommunication system for hearings involving inmates held outside the parish; and save $45,000 by changing the commissary rules at the jail.
The estimated savings from the jail recommendation is $334,332.
“If we implement these changes and accept these amendments we are going to be fine,” Taylor said.
Taylor presented a chart showing that 83 percent of the parish government expenditures are mandated, grants or dedicated funds.
“When the revenues go down the only way to pay mandates is to decrease our expenses,” he said.
Councilman Timmy Lejeune said the people who are paying taxes are suffering the most because grass is not getting cut, drainage issue are repaired and 800 miles of roads are being tended by fewer employees.
Last year parish government released 17 employees and most were the public works department that does road and drainage work.