Parish Council ends up with 2 budget choices

The St. Landry Parish Council introduced two budgets at a special meeting Wednesday.
One budget was proposed by St. Landry Parish President Bill Fontenot.
The other budget is identical except it cuts 15 percent from the Eunice and Opelousas marshals and courts. That budget was introduced by Councilman Harold Taylor and ended up being voted upon after the Council wrangled over whether it could supplant the administration budget.
Council Chairman Jerry Red reminded the Council before the vote that any member may introduce a budget without need of second and vote.
Taylor’s proposal was also backed by Council members Ken Marks, Wayne Ardoin, Timmy LeJeune, Jimmie Edwards and Coby Clavier.
Vivian Olivier, who introduced the administration budget, voted against Taylor’s amended budget.
Abstaining were Dexter Brown, Nancy Carriere, Mildred Thierry and Easton Shelvin.
The parish president said the budget he presented was balanced, but “it is a very tight budget.”
Fontenot noted parish government is cut 20 percent in the administration budget.
The budget projects general fund revenues and expenses in 2018 of $6,212,532, which is an 11 percent increase over the projected actual revenue this year of $5,588,809.
Marks said about $4 million of the $6 million is going to mandated expenses. The Council and parish president have no control over mandated expenses, which are incurred by offices such as the district attorney, clerk of court, registrar of voters and assessor. The budget cuts those mandated expenses by 5 percent.
Taylor’s proposal to cut 15 percent from the city courts and marshals is a bid to lower about $80,000 in operational costs in those offices that he says are not mandated. The $80,000 in cuts would be made over two or three years, he said.
The 15 percent cut would trim about $6,700 for the Eunice offices and $19,000 from the Opelousas offices, he said.
Highlights in the administration’s 2018 general fund budget include:
— Reduction of 20 percent in General Administration Office expense.
— Reduction of 20 percent in General Administration professional fees.
— Reduction of 45 percent in General Administration dues and subscriptions.
— Reduction of 20 percent in General Administration building and grounds maintenance.
— Reduction of 5 percent in mandated expenditures.
The Road and Bridge Fund budget includes:
— Increase in the salary budget for two full-time vacant positions to be filled in 2018.
— Increase in capital outlay of $150,000 for two used dump trucks in 2018.