[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish makes deep budget cuts

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish makes deep budget cuts

CHALMETTE (AP) -- The St. Bernard Parish Council has approved a severely
scaled-down operating budget that will rely on federal support to maintain
shrunken services in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation to the
parish and its tax base. 

The council unanimously adopted a $30 million budget that slashed most
departments in the face of an expected 39 percent drop in revenues. But the
council approved the parish's largest-ever capital budget, with $384 million
for brick-and-mortar projects, almost all paid for with federal grants. 

The approved budget estimates the parish will pull in only about $18 million
in revenues, a dramatic reduction from this year's take of roughly $40
million. 

Parish President Henry "Junior'' Rodriguez says it's important to send the
message to residents that the parish is focusing all of its efforts on
rebuilding the parish.