[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish budget discussions are dragging on

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish budget discussions are dragging on
 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on January 18, 2013 at 5:34 PM, updated January 18, 2013 at 5:39 PM Print


After St. Bernard Parish administrators and Parish Council members met
behind closed doors Thursday, some 2013 budget matters have been ironed out,
but more work is needed. As a result, the budget amendments will not be
introduced at the Tuesday council meeting.

"We made a lot of headway, but we just are not finished," said Councilman
Guy McInnis, who is chairman of the council's Executive Finance Committee.
"We are real close. We have some things we have to still maneuver.

"The administration is working hard and we are working hard with them, and
we will have a good budget that everyone can agree on," McInnis said.

The parish government is struggling to make up a hole of about $500,00 in
its sanitation budget for 2013 despite having renegotiated its contract last
year and reaping an $800,000 annual savings. While residents currently get
two garbage pickups a week, McInnis says that, because of the way the
contract is written, cutting down to one day a week hardly saves any money.

In terms of the sanitation budget, Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Graves
said the administration will get something initial together as an amendment,
but he expects "we are going to wresting with that sanitation budget all
year."

The half-cent tax on sanitation services is expected to bring in about $3.3
million this year. The parish also has a 3.04-mill sanitation tax that is
expected to generate about $980,000.

The parish administration previously has said the parish would break even on
on garbage pickup and disposal costs this year. It was not immediately clear
what has changed.

Last week, the Parish Council declined to introduce the parish
administration's proposed 2013 budget amendments. McInnis instead referred
the amendments to the Executive Finance Committee.

McInnis said on Wednesday that, depending on the Thursday talks with parish
government, the Executive Finance Committee might take up newly discussed
amendments during a meeting on Monday and the Parish Council would introduce
them during its Tuesday meeting.

Now, everyone is shooting for the next regular meeting: Feb 5 at 7 p.m. And
the finance meeting also will be pushed back until later next week, or the
week after.

While it appears one of the main talking points -- the Fire Department --
was generally worked out, decisions about the sanitation department seem to
be holding things up.

Graves said the group basically had agreed to let the parish levy the Fire
Department's full 20 mills despite the $1.75 million federal SAFER grant
money coming in this year. The SAFER grant lasts only two years, and Graves
said all that money is needed for the department's general fund -- often
called a rainy day fund -- in case larger departmental repairs are needed
down the line.

"What we focused on with fire is keeping it staffed and building its fund
balance for the future so we are not dependent on SAFER grant for when 2015
comes around," Graves said. "We also are looking to make some capital
improvements to some fire facilities and some apparatuses that need
attention."