Layoffs to help balance budget

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n an effort to reduce an anticipated deficit, the St. Martinville City Council has acted to trim $191,000 from the proposed 2018 budget. After Jan. 1, additional cuts are expected bring the total budget reduction to $250,000.
At the Oct. 17 council meeting, Mayor Thomas Nelson proposed that several positions in city government be eliminated and that he and council members take a 5 percent pay cut. “We have to lead by example,” Nelson said. The council approved the measure.
The city will lay off one full-time employee at the parish barn, two part-time grass mowers, two part-time park and recreation employees and two Opera House employees as well as one part-time employee at the Acadian Memorial.
There will be no cuts to other city employee wages. The administration will further reduce payroll costs by leaving two currently vacant positions open. More reductions may also be accomplished through attrition as more employees quit or retire in the future.
Like many area municipalities, St. Martinville has experienced a reduction in sales tax and gaming revenues currently running about $330,000 below last year’s receipts.
Costs of maintaining city-owned buildings has been cited as a significant expense item. However, Nelson said the main financial issue relates to employee insurance costs.
The city pays 90 percent of employee insurance, at a cost of more than $800 per month for each employee. No change has been proposed to the employee insurance program.
Dist. 4 council member Debra Landry said the cuts are unfortunate, but seem balanced and fair, and the other council members approved the proposed cuts.
Also, the museums will be closed two days per week and a third day every other week. One museum employee will be moved to the Council on Aging.