St. Landry Parish Government

The lights were literally out when the St. Landry Parish Council’s Administrative-Finance Committee began its discussion of the parish budget.
Which may have been fortunate because the committee was told the budget, which is to be prepared by Parish President Bill Fontenot, has not been completed.
A hail storm passing through Opelousas Wednesay pelted the Old City Market building and eventually the lights went out.
With cell phones illuminating the room, Amanda Cain, finance director, said the parish president will present the budget.

Beset by budget woes, some members of the St. Landry Parish Council want to take a second look at how the money from Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino is split.
The parish receives about $2.7 million before it is divided across 11 entities.
The so-called racino money came up as the Parish Council’s Administrative and Finance Committee met Wednesday in Opelousas to hear an often stated story of parish government revenues falling behind ever expanding needs.

A new lease purchase agreement for a computer network server is headed toward the Sept. 19 St. Landry Parish Council meeting.
The Council’s Administrative and Finance Committee approved sending the contract to the full meeting along with an agreement with information technology manager Shane Garrard.
The agreement with Garrard would be to end his services with parish government, Parish President Bill Fontenot said.
The server agreement is another move to fix a finding in an audit released in July that faulted parish government’s handling of the server lease-purchase.