[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Council passes 2013 budget that factors in fire millage

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Council passes 2013 budget that factors in fire millage
 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on December 14, 2012 at 10:41 PM, updated December 15, 2012 at 2:06 PM Print

The St. Bernard Parish Council passed the 2013 budget late Friday amid much
finger pointing between the council members and at the parish
administration. The council added one amendment to the 2013 budget that
largely reflects the passage of the 20-mill fire tax, approved by parish
voters during the election last weekend.

That tax will prevent fire department layoffs -- the parish administration
had threatened 79 firefighter cuts if the tax had not passed -- but also
will free up about $1.1 million in sales tax revenue that can now be used to
stave off some layoffs in other departments. In addition to the fire
department cutbacks, the parish administration had said 70 other personnel
would have had to be cut if the fire millage had not passed.

And while the dollar figures of the 2013 budget amendment were not discussed
in detail Friday, it appears the amendment basically uses that $1.1 million
in sales tax revenue to prevent most of those proposed 70 layoffs. The
parish administration already has eliminated 82 positions since the
beginning of the year, bringing the total employee count down to 433.

Parish President Dave Peralta, Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Graves and
Ross Gonzales, who officially will become the new parish finance director on
Monday, only were given copies of the amendment immediately before the vote.
After the council meeting, each said they would have to review the amendment
next week because they could not initially make heads or tails of it.

The one proposed budget amendment by the parish government, which never was
introduced by the Parish Council, would have raised the fire department's
revenues next year by about $2 million. Meanwhile, the council's amendment
appears to keep the parish fire department at its current funding.

The difference is that the Parish Council -- unlike the proposal by the
administration -- anticipates not having to levy the full 20 mills next
year.

Councilman Richie Lewis, who spearheaded the amendment as chair of the
finance committee, said the full 20 mills will not have to be levied because
of the about $1.75 million coming to the fire department through the
Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response, or SAFER, grant. That is
the first half of a two-year grant that the fire department will receive
next year.

Before the amendment's passage Friday evening, Lewis only abstractly
described it, saying it would provide some cuts while still "assuring that
the citizens of St. Bernard Parish will continue to get the services they
expect."

Councilman Casey Hunnicutt questioned the amendment and asked for details,
but Lewis told him that the amendment had been available for Hunnicutt to
look over earlier in the day, and then Lewis teased Hunnicutt, claiming that
Lewis didn't know the budget as well as he should.

In a final, derogatory attempt to explain the cuts to Hunnicutt, Lewis
simply said: "I am saving the parish some money ..."

Later, acknowledging the last-minute nature of the amendment, Council
Chairman Guy McInnis did say, "Look, we can go through this and change it as
the year goes on."

"You guys are going to have to decipher this budget and come back and ask
any questions you have," McInnis told Peralta, Graves and Gonzales.

St. Bernard Finance Director Beverly Gariepy is leaving to take a finance
post in St. Tammany Parish. The announcement of her departure came less than
a week after St. Bernard voters passed a residency requirement for new
employee hires, which would not have applied to Gariepy -- who lives in St.
Tammany -- but who, along with other non-St. Bernard-resident employees, was
often mentioned by community members throughout the process. In addition to
the recent residency requirement, Gariepy has been a punching bag for the
Parish Council amid the parish's current finance woes.

The council on Friday spoke in favor of that finance director change.

"I think the entire council now has the entire confidence in Mr. Ross to
lead this (budget) process forward," Council member George Cavignac said.

Later in the council meeting, getting into a few more specifics about the
amendment, Lewis said that he and other councilman felt it was unfair to
adopt a budget that included 70 additional personnel cuts, as the
administrative previously had proposed.

"The amendment protects the employees that we thought needed to be
protected, which was the majority of them," Lewis said.