Wayne Ardoin
The St. Landry Parish Council voted to create a task force to study what can be done about “Third World” roads in the parish.
Parish President Jessie Bellard was requested to form the task force to include public works employees as well as Council members after the condition of Fleur des Coteau Road was discussed.
St. Landry Parish Jail.
St. Landry Parish Government and the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office are monitoring the parish jail conditions and inmates who have contracted the coronavirus.
For months, parish jail officials have kept the COVID-19 outbreak at bay, but several inmates and employees have recently tested positive for the virus. Parish government provided 45 inmates and employees with a COVID test, and ten inmates have been identified as positive for the virus.
At the Eunice Rotary Club meeting Wednesday, from left, are Kitty Jo Deshotel, Club president; Jessie Bellard, parish president; and Coby Clavier, St. Landry Parish Council chairman. (Photo by Myra Miller)
St. Landry Parish Government plans to open an office on the second floor of the Eunice Municipal Complex this week.
Parish President Jessie Bellard announced the office opening when he spoke to the Eunice Rotary Club on Wednesday.
Bellard said Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot invited Bellard to open the office and said it will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 430 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The office will be a first for parish government at Eunice, he said.
St. Landry Parish Government leaders are stressing that renewing a 1-mill, 10-year jail maintenance tax is crucial at Saturday’s election.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The proposition on the ballot states the tax is expected to raise $671,000 a year and is dedicated to operating and maintaining the parish jail that holds up to 232 prisoners.
“We need to make people realize how important this tax is for the jail,” said Coby Clavier, of Eunice, who serves as the St. Landry Parish Council chairman.
“It is not a new tax. It is a renewal,” he said.
Amanda Cain, St. Landry Parish Government finance director, discusses the Parish Council’s 2020 and 2021 budgets at a meeting Wednesday in Opelousas. (Photo by Harlan Kirgan)
An amended 2020 budget and a proposed 2021 budget were introduced at a special meeting Tuesday.
The 2020 budget includes an ending balance of $2,123,405 that is carried forward into the 2021 ending balance. The 2020 beginning balance was $1,574,569 — A $548,836 difference.
Amanda Cain, finance director, presented the budget and said, “I’m happy to say the 2021 budget is balanced.”
The parish finances faced uncertainty from hurricanes that battered the parish and the COVID-19 pandemic.
465 Aymond St.
Eunice, LA 70535
Phone: 337-457-3061
Fax: 337-457-3122