New president warns Parish Council about budget shortfall

St. Mary Parish’s new president and council were sworn in at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The first controversy of the new term was rattling the pot lid by 6:15 p.m.
The council, with two members to start the term, turned back an attempt by newly sworn Parish President Sam Jones to replace Chief Administrative Officer Jean Paul Bourg with former Baldwin Alderman Marion J. Newton.
Jones said he needs Newton’s help to straighten out a problem he discovered only earlier in the day Monday: a looming budget deficit of $2.5 million-$2.7 million that could make the parish government run out of money by this spring.
“We need to know we’re not going to run out of money in May,” Jones told the council.
Bourg, who has worked with St. Mary Gravity Drainage District No. 2 in Morgan City and as parish public works director, was appointed CAO eight months ago to replace longtime CAO Henry “Bo” LaGrange, who retired.
Newton told the council that he has experience in the private sector and as an alderman in Baldwin, where he said he helped the town government fix a budget that threatened to fall short of the town’s needs for more than two months.
He said he doesn’t believe personnel cuts will be adequate to deal with the parish shortfall. Other options include seeking state or federal funding and reducing or streamlining some parish services.
Council members questioned whether Newton’s experience stacks up against the time Bourg has already served as CAO, which the parish charter gives considerable control over day-to-day operations and personnel matters.
Councilman Craig Mathews of Jeanerette, who chairs the council’s Finance Committee, was skeptical of what he called Jones’ “insinuation” about the budget shortfall.
“That’s not saying I’m going to accept it as accurate,” Mathews said.
Late last year, the council passed a $39 million budget that relied on funds accumulated from prior year surpluses.
Asked Monday about the shortfall claim, neither Bourg nor Finance Director Paul Governale exactly confirmed or denied Jones’ characterization of the budget situation.
Bourg acknowledged that debt repayment is putting a strain on the budget. He said there is a cash flow problem because money, including property tax receipts, come in at various times of the year.
Governale said the fund balance contains some assets as well as available funds.
Councilwoman Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink of Centerville said she believes Jones deserves to have the CAO he feels he can work with.
Councilman Dean Adams of Morgan City said four consecutive mayors in that city have named new CAOs, “and everything worked out fine.”
Adams also asked, without getting an answer, what happened to $10 million in COVID funding received by the parish over the last few years.
Members opposed to naming Newton CAO won with six no votes to five yes votes.
Voting against Jones’ recommendation of Newton were Mathews, J Ina and Rodney Olander of Franklin, David Hill and Gwendolyn Hidalgo of Bayou Vista, and Patrick Hebert of Berwick.
Voting for the recommendation were Rink, Adams and James “Jimmy” Davis of Morgan City, Mark Duhon of Amelia and Leslie “Les” Rulf of Patterson.
During his campaign for parish president, Jones repeatedly said the parish government had too much bonded debt and that sources inside the government told him the parish was having trouble meeting its payroll.
Then-President David Hanagriff defended the use of bonds to pay for important infrastructure work and denied that the parish couldn’t pay its employees.
Another hitch developed at Monday’s meeting, this one a delay in electing a council chair and vice chair.
The agenda for the meeting said the council would elect its two officers Monday. But legal counsel Eric Duplantis said the charter requires those officers to be elected at the first regular meeting of the new term.
That meeting will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Parish Courthouse in Franklin.
The council’s regular meetings are on second and fourth Wednesdays.
The charter limits the leadership positions to members elected from the three at-large districts that cover the parish apart from the eight traditional geographic districts. The at-large seats are currently held by Rink, Hidalgo and Adams.
For the last year, Hidalgo has chaired the council with Rink as vice chair. Rink and Adams have served as chair in previous years.
Before the contentious budget issue arose, the council chamber was full of friends, relatives and smiles as Jones and the 11 council members took their oaths for the new term.
Hill won his election in District 4 to succeed Scott Ramsey, who didn’t seek re-election. Davis unseated incumbent James Bennett in District 7.
Also winning parish government posts for this term were Chief Deputy Gary Driskell as sheriff; incumbent Coroner Dr. Eric Melancon and incumbent Assessor Jarrod Longman, who were unopposed; and Greg Aucoin, who qualified without opposition to succeed retiring Clerk of Court Cliff Dressel.
Monday was also inauguration day for St. Mary’s three state legislators.
Robert Allain, R-Franklin, won a three-way race to succeed his father, Bret Allain, in state Senate District 21. Bret Allain was term-limited.
Vincent St. Blanc, R-Franklin, won election for a second term as the representative for House District 50, and Beryl Amedee, R-Gray, qualified without opposition for re-election from District 51.