Parish budget sent to council

St. Martinville – Parish President Guy Cormier submitted the proposed 2017 operational and capital outlay budgets to the St. Martin Parish Council at the body’s Oct. 4 meeting. Having voted to hold the required special meeting on Nov. 2, members now have less than one month to examine the documents and propose amendments.
Cormier said drawing up the budget proposal was a very challenging project this year. The budget and documentation has been in the works since early August, he said, and the “do not disturb” sign on his office door for the past few weeks was only partly in jest.
With apologies to council members for not being as available as usual, Cormier said he, Financial Director Sean Hundley and Director of Administration Fabian Tucker had a few sobering realities to deal with. For one thing, August’s flood brought both financial and time demands to parish government. The main source of stress, though, was a decrease in tax revenues in the parish. Revenues from Sales Tax District 1 are down about 27 percent and Sales Tax District 2 receipts dropped 38 percent from last year.
Dist.1, which covers nearly all of the unincorporated areas of the parish, is dedicated exclusively to road maintenance. Special taxing district 2 covers only the Cade area. Use of Dist. 2 funds is more flexible and can be used for recreational improvements and other uses as well as road projects.
Hotel/motel, video poker and off-track betting revenues are down as well, Cormier said, and the parish also faces new state-mandated costs for the Judicial Fund. But he added that the parish has been very conservative with spending, and commended council members and administrators for the comparative health of parish finances, despite the challenges.
Presenting the annual property tax report, Assessor Todd Dugas said millage revenues for the year continue a 15-year upward trend, rising 3.75 percent. Dugas warned, however, that the opening of two large businesses in the parish kept the numbers moving up. No such new openings are in the works for next year, he said, so some further belt tightening will probably be in order.
In other business, Eric Martin of the Teche Project, presented the organization’s annual report to the council. Martin reported continued progress toward the group’s goals for improving the condition of the Bayou Teche since its establishment in 2009. He spoke of improvement to the quality, access and public recognition of the importance of the Teche to local culture and communities.
Pointing out the fact that, following the 2014 designation of a 135 mile section of the Bayou Teche as a National Water Trail, Martin said the Teche Project has helped spur improvements to bayou access along the route. Through federal, state and local cooperative agreements, canoe and kayak docks and other “trailhead” facilities have been built at Breaux Bridge and Loreauville. More docks are planned for St. Martinville, Parks, New Iberia, Arnaudville, Cecilia and other locations.
Martin said bayou clean-up efforts led by the Teche Project’s Dane Thibodeaux have removed more than 52 tons of trash from the bayou in the past seven years. Water quality improvements, wood duck boxes, mile markers and a wide array of efforts by the Teche Project, he said, are making the historic waterway much more inviting for recreational use.
Also, the council passed resolutions declaring the month of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Head Start Awareness Month. The week of Oct. 9-15 was declared Fire Prevention Week, and Oct. 15 was proclaimed American Cancer Society Relay for Life Day.
Finally, the Nov. 1 parish council meeting was rescheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. due to the Nov. 1 election.