Patterson council moves closer to a budget fix

PATTERSON — The Patterson City Council is closing in on passage of a 2024-25 budget after a year of belt-tightening and work to put city accounts in order.
At a special meeting Tuesday, Mayor Rodney Grogan said he will call another special meeting for Dec. 17, giving council members most of a month to examine a draft budget and develop suggestions before the budget is formally introduced.
If the process goes according to plan, the new budget could come up for a passage vote in early January.
City finances have been a struggle since then-City Accountant Reggie Weary said the city government had been hit with unexpected expenses related to capital projects. Weary took a private sector job. Former city employee Pam Washington was called back to work on the budget, and Monica Mabile was hired.
Both received the thanks of council members Tuesday for their work over the last year.
Grogan had a couple of suggestions of his own: passing on to city residents costs related to street lights and increased tipping fees at the parish landfill. Together, the moves could save the city government $166,000.
Eliminating the city’s senior feeding program is also being considered.
Councilman R. DeMale Bowden made an impassioned call for tighter oversight of overtime and an improved organizational chart.
The city’s Community Center is also being looked at as a source of both revenue and cost-cutting.
The 2023-24 budget ended in June, and the law gives the city a six-month grace period that it will exceed if the new budget is enacted in early January.
“If they want to write us up for three days,” Washington told the council, “so be it.”