Parish Council gets look at proposed 2026 budget

FRANKLIN — The St. Mary Parish Council on Wednesday introduced a 2026 budget that is balanced but does nothing to add to the year-end fund balance that could provide a cushion against unexpected expenses.
The general fund, which pays for the everyday operations of government, 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.
“It’s going to be the same thing, or close to it,” Parish President Sam Jones said after the half-hour meeting.
Jones is hoping that the last two budgets of his term will have more breathing room.
Parish finances have been a frequent battleground in the council term that began in January 2024.
Jones 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.
Former Parish President David Hanagriff defended a $20 million bond issue that paid for road work for the parish and municipalities.
Councilman the Rev. Craig Mathews has characterized the financial situation as a cash-flow problem rather than a long-term danger. Mathews and Jones have clashed over an appropriation to the Baldwin Police Department from a 3/10ths-cent sales tax.
The proposed budget anticipates income of $3 million from property taxes, or about $264,000 less than is projected for 2025.
The budget also projects a rebound in severance tax payments from the state. The parish gets a share of the money that the state receives for the removal of minerals from land in the parish.
That line item, which accounted for about $1.3 million in 2024, is expected to have dipped to $815,000 by the end of this year. The proposed 2026 budget estimates that the parish will receive just less than $1.3 million again in 2026.
In the road maintenance construction and maintenance fund, the parish expects to spend $6.3 million, matching the revenue total.
The biggest sources of money for roads is the Royalty Road Fund, another program in which the state shares tax revenue with the parish. St. Mary expects to receive $2.5 million in 2026. Another $1.3 million is expected to come through the federal Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act.
The budgets for operations and capital outlay are in the form of two ordinances. Twenty days must elapse between the introduction of an ordinance and a final passage vote.