Budget passes, but tempers flare at Council Meet

Franklin - The St Mary Parish Council passed its 2026 fiscal year budget on Wednesday, but not before making last minute changes to restore $17,000 to one program, but slice $500,000 from another.
The issues however paled in comparison to a request at the end of the meeting by Councilman Rev. Craig Mathews for $5,000, which unfolded into more than 20 minutes of a heated discussion over money, between he and the parish president.
The barb session later culminated in Council Chairman Gwen Hidalgo stating she would not seek office for another term, because she was tired of the arguments that unfold at the parish council meetings.
The St. Mary Parish Council passed its 2026 budget that anticipates revenue and expenses of about $10.3 million.
Millions more will be raised and spent in 23 other funds that include functions such as road construction and maintenance, paying off debt, sanitation and more.
But parish finances have been a frequent battleground in the council term that began in January 2024.
Since then, St Mary Parish President Sam Jones has blamed a tight parish government budget on too much debt and on what he said was the parish’s refusal to take advantage of state funding. He has pointed to the power granted by the home rule charter to refuse to pay for spending if he finds the parish doesn’t have the money.
However, St Mary Parish Councilman Mathews has characterized the financial situation as a cash-flow problem rather than a long-term danger.
Before the votes were cast on the budget Wednesday, Mathews made a motion to amend the budget, in order to restore roughly $17,000 to the St Mary Community Action, which was cut due to belt-tightening.
But Councilman Rodney Olander said while he was not against the program, he could not approve of restoring the funds because the parish has many other programs that were cut, including the St Mary Council on Aging.
Mathews said he understood the value of all of the initiatives in the parish, and that he supports all of them, however, “No recommendations about any other program came to the floor, about restoring funds,” he said when the council was discussing budget matters.
Jones said, “I’m not against anything you’re saying. But whatever ya’ll want to do is on you. It’s not on me.”
The parish president explained that he has spent his time, along with Paul Governale, the parish chief administrative officer, in trying to straighten out budget woes.
“It’s been three years, maybe four, where we have been operating in the red, because money was spent that wasn’t there, doing things at we could not afford to do.”
But Jones concluded that he believes in 2026, (Continued on Page 11)the parish will turn the corner with its budget.
Councilman David Hill then asked that a $500,000 allocation to the Wards 5 and 8 Joint Sewage Commission be removed, explaining that he can help them find alternative sources of revenue like grants.
The commission is an intergovernmental entity created 41 years ago by the St Mary Parish Council, the City of Patterson and the Town of Berwick.
Its mission is to provide sewer services, and to operate a regional sewage treatment facility which collects sewage from Calumet to Berwick.
Hill represents the area on the council, which is part of the commission, so Jones along with Councilman Dean Adams questioned Hill regarding issues Bayou Vista residents are having with flushing their toilets.
Hill insisted that he believed other resources could be found to solve problems, and if not, he would motion that the money be restored in mid-January 2026.
Because the council made amendments changing the budget ordinance, the clerk called for a new vote due to the modifications.
Councilmen Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink, Les Rulf and Rodney Olander voted no, with the remainder of the council voting yes.
As the council moved on from the budget agenda item, they also moved on from money discussions, until one of the last agenda items of the meeting. That’s where Mathews asked for a $5,000 allocation to Recreation District No. 5, for certain equipment upgrades.
“Can you wait a few weeks?” Jones asked Mathews.
“Why?” Mathews aanswered.
“Because we don’t have the money,” Jones said.
“You don’t know whether or not you will have $5,000 until two weeks from now? Well that’s a problem,” Mathews said.
“You’re telling me you can’t make a $5,000 allocation from a $600,000 fund balance? That’s a tall drop.”
But Jones pressed, “We’re not going to bankrupt this place. We’re not.”
Pointing to a what he later referred to as a $300,000 parish deficit in 2023, he said, “We were bankrupt in 2023. and we’re not going back there.”
“All you want to do is fight,” Jones said to Mathews.
However, Mathews replied, “No. All you want to do is fund the projects you want to fund. I’ve been here for 16 years. You’re lying if you expect the people of this parish to believe that we’ve been bankrupted all these years.”
The two traded barbs, which turned into a shouting match.
“We do not spend money we do not have,” Jones