Patterson council passes post--COVID budget, praises people who make a difference

PATTERSON — The Council on Tuesday passed a fiscal 2024 budget that anticipates 12% less revenue than this year, but 17% less in expenses, too.

Like other local governments, Patterson is back to budgeting without some of the state and federal aid sent their way by state and federal authorities in the last couple of years. But next year’s budget has a $489,000 surplus, and anticipates no cuts in services or personnel, according to City Accountant Reginal Weary.

Also Tuesday, the council praised personnel who don’t work for the city but are making important contributions. They include the people who run the Park Street Park Easter egg hunt, a group of Patterson High freshmen who are learning something as they prepare to enter a tournament in Houston, a woman who has worked at the Center of Hope for four decades, and an 8-year-old Cub Scout who turned herself into a one-girl anti-litter campaign.

The council normally meets at 6 p.m. each first Tuesday at City Hall. But the next meeting will be July 11 to avoid a conflict with Independence Day.

The budget

The 2024 budget passed unanimously Tuesday foresees total revenues of $8.7 million, down from $10 million this year. Spending is expected to hit $8.2 million in 2024, down from $10.0 million in 2023.

The biggest component of the $1.3 million drop in revenue is $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act money that the city received for 2023 but won’t have next year, Weary told the council.

On the spending side, some capital projects are also coming off the books, including the last of the work on Morey Park improvements, Weary said.

Mayor Rodney Grogan said Patterson might be in line for more federal grants if city residents had had a higher participation rate in the 2020 Census. The census showed Patterson with a population of 5,931, down 3% from 2010.

Like his colleagues in Morgan City and Berwick, Grogan believes his city’s population was undercounted in the pandemic-plagued 2020 head count. And if the population was undercounted, the median household income was overestimated, he believes.

With overestimated wealth and an underestimated population, “we have to live with it for eight or nine years,” Grogan said.

The city budgeted for an increase in tax revenue of about $220,000 to $3.6 million and a $119,000 hike in utility services income to $4.1 million.

Anticipated spending is down from 2023 in all seven expenditure categories, including police (down $104,000 to $1.9 million), fire (down $145 million to $606,000) and capital outlay (down $671,000 to $345,000).

The city government isn’t finished yet with state- and federally -funded projects.

Patterson has qualified for a $1.5 million federal grant, which will require a 25% city match, and $2.53 million in state capital funding for improving sewer service capacity south of the railroad tracks.

The sewer system upgrade is needed to accommodate development south of the tracks. But the rules governing the grants mean Patterson can improve the system but not replace it, a sore point for the mayor.

“If we’re going to get $4 million, we should go with state of the art,” Grogan said.

After the meeting, Grogan pointed to the city’s experience with a new water plant. Upgrading the old plant would have cost $11 million, he said, but building a new, modern plant cost only $6 million.
Grogan is hoping an agreement can be reached to allow for a replacement rather than an upgrade of the existing sewer service south of the tracks.

Also Tuesday, the council made another preparation for growth by introducing an ordinance that would update definitions in the zoning code, part of an extensive overhaul of the city’s zoning rules.

Kudos

The council also offered and received praise Tuesday.

—Amelle Dupre, 8, the daughter of Lonie and Brittny Dupre, was praised by Grogan for picking up three large bags of litter along Tiffany Street on May 21, a Sunday.

“At the end of the day,” Grogan said, “when you picked up the garbage that people just threw away, it helps you respect your community, right?”

The mayor posted pictures of her project on the city’s Facebook page.

“You went viral,” Grogan told her.

—Arc of St. Mary/Center of Hope Director Kristal Hebert introduced the council to Sarah Charlot.

The center provides training and employment for St. Mary residents with developmental disabilities.

Charlot has worked at the center for 40 years.

—Councilwoman Mamie Perry and her council colleagues recognized members of the St. Mary Parish Elite basketball team, which will compete in the Juneteenth Shootout in Houston June 16-18.

Team members have played together since Biddy Basketball and are now freshmen.

Cordale Mobley, who coaches the team along with Tron Triggs and Carlton McGuire, said leading the team is about more than basketball.

“We try to get them going in the right direction,” Mobley said.

The team plans a fundraising can shake 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday on Catherine Street.

—Members of the Patterson New Age organization thanked the City Council for its support.
New Age is involved in a variety of activities, the most visible of which is the annual Easter egg hunt.

Also Tuesday:

—The council approved an agreement with Acadian Ambulance. Acadian will occupy a room at the old city hall for $400 per month, with the city government paying for utilities.

—The council passed a resolution supporting National Gun Violence Awareness Month.