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BAYOU VISTA — Some residents here want their own accounting system from St. Mary Parish government, along with $500,000 they say was promised to them by the parish president but later pulled by their own parish councilman.
Roughly 40 Bayou Vista residents were all ears Tuesday when Andrée Hebert, a concerned citizen of the area, opened a town hall meeting she began promoting shortly after New Year’s Day. The meeting was to address water, sewer and drainage issues, along with the removal of $500,000 that St. Mary Parish President Sam Jones had allocated to Bayou Vista for drainage and sewer issues.
The money was later removed by Parish Councilman David Hill of Bayou Vista, who said he was baffled because Jones could ignore much smaller budget requests from himself and another colleague, but yet could find $500,000 for Bayou Vista, while saying the parish was tight on funds and nearly broke.
Hill later stressed he could put the money back in the budget if he were presented with a strong need for the area.
But Hebert said the money removal from the parish budget was the final straw in what she believes is a series of developments in parish government, where “there is a huge unwillingness among leaders to understand real issues. I don’t know if that is intentional, as I think it could be a lack of understanding on their part.
“But in summary, we’re dealing with a very archaic accounting system and parish charter, as well as power grabs, and the results of many past handshake gentlemen’s agreements.”
Hebert began following the Parish Council in January 2025, after her daughter’s car took on water during a storm while it was parked in her driveway.
“That was the spark that caused me to wake up and wonder what is really going on with the parish drainage, among other issues,” she said.
However, when the money was stripped from the budget, she became irate, leading her to call a town hall meeting at the Bayou Vista Civic Center, not only to air her issues about parish government but to gather information from fellow neighbors and citizens.
“I believe Sam Jones allocated that money from the 0.3% sales tax because of his awareness of the failing infrastructure of the drainage and sewage in Bayou Vista, because no capital outlay projects have been carried forth in nearly 20 years.
“And in relation to the Wards 5 and 8 Sewage Commission and its financial woes, while I don’t think Jones’ allocation of the money was specifically for them, I think it was allocated for the infrastructure needs that impact that commission’s ability to process our sewage.”
The Sewage Commission imposed a rate increase on Berwick and Patterson residents, and board members are considering another rate hike to help deal with an aging system.
Tuesday night, Hebert opened the meeting first thanking those who attended, but then pointed to the parish and council, for being oblivious to infrastructure issues in Bayou Vista, while running the parish like “a bloated police jury.”
The meeting ended with Lindsey Anslem, a St. Mary School Board member and another Bayou Vista resident, reciting a list of the major issues that were discussed at the meeting, the top two being that Bayou Vista tax revenues be separated and placed in a separate checking account with public transparency on where that money is allocated, and a reallocation of the $500,000 promised by Jones, to Bayou Vista drainage woes.
Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink, a St. Mary Parish Councilwoman at-large, said she will place those two items on the Parish Council agenda, for their first meeting of the year on Jan. 14. A majority of the council would have to approve both items for them to pass.
Rink agreed with the audience that the parish accounting of tax receivables and expenditures needs a lot of transparency and work. But it suffers from a huge problem: It’s too swollen with wants and needs.
“Some of the tax calls on how the various taxes are collected and allocated need to be rewritten, to be more specific,” she said. But it would call for public approval in order to be changed and approval from the Parish Council to call an election for such purposes.
Councilman At-Large Dean Adams of Morgan City said a good example of an improper tax call is the parish 0.3% sales tax revenue.
“Every area of this parish needs its own checking account of this money. And the allocations are based on population,” Adams said.
But Hill said parish administration will never agree to that because the parish is using that money for payroll and other administrative needs. He said he has presented different issues to the Parish Council and has been told no.
Also, he said all of the 0.3% tax money that is collected is placed into the parish general fund, which is another problem.
Rink stressed to the audience that they read all of the tax calls.
“The tax calls say what we can spend the money for, but they don’t say who can spend it. It’s an accounting issue on the administrative side.
“We as a council see the big line items the money is spent on, and it is spent appropriately. The problem is the money has never been deducted appropriately and there has always been an IOU written when money was taken, when it should have been a line-item deduction.
“The easiest way to fix this problem is to start this year, and wipe the fund balance for the sales tax money to zero. We need to start fresh.”
Councilwoman At-Large Gwendolyn Hidalgo, who represents Bayou Vista as part of her district, was also present at the meeting, but stood in the back of the room and did not speak.
So was Amelia Councilman Mark Duhon, whose district is the only part of the parish that maintains a fixed portion of the 0.3% sales tax. This was created when the tax was originally brought up for a vote by his father, T-Shoo Duhon, and it was permanently marked to have a portion of its proceeds dedicated for Amelia Recreation, according to Adams.
Chad Ross, chairman and co-chairman of two drainage districts that encompass Bayou Vista, said he has four shovel-ready projects to fix problems, but doesn’t have a majority of the money needed for most of them, because the costs are into the millions.
He said that nine years ago, a pump station was built for Bayou Vista, but when it was designed, there was flaw and it never acted right. So for nine years, the drainage board has been in litigation to get it right.
“This year we were able to settle the lawsuit and come to an agreement to get the funding we need to get that pump station 100% operational,” he said.
“We’ve had problems in Bayou Vista for a long time. I spoke with the fire chief. Every time it rains, he has to shut down part of Bayou Vista, because there is water in the streets.
“Another problem is that the infrastructure under our roadways is old, and it was never designed or engineered to hold the amount of concrete we have today, Walmart and these other area buildings. It was never designed for this.
“The problem is money. You can’t get emergency money if there’s no emergency. As long as water is not getting in your house, the federal government tells us y’all are doing your job and you don’t need our money.
“But I’ve met with our parish president and our state law makers, we are working tirelessly to get money.”
Ross said he received news from state Sen. Robert Allain, R-Franklin, who is close to receiving an appropriation of an annual $3 million from the state, for all of St. Mary Parish to use for drainage.
“This is good news, but the money will be for all of St. Mary Parish, so needs will have to be justified.”
Ross said the believes the Bayou Vista pump station should be fixed by the end of this summer.
Also, he said the Bayou Vista drainage district meets at 6 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month at the mini golf course and invited the audience to attend and participate.
Rachel Joubert, another Bayou Vista resident, said she is losing her property every time it rains, and needs to fight flood waters with sandbags. She also questions prior areas where the parish has dug for ditch locations.
“If Morgan City can get millions of dollars to get fixed, why can’t we?” Joubert asked.
Parish Councilman the Rev. Craig Mathews, who represents the Four Corners area, also spoke to the audience.
“The challenge we’re having right now is that we have a parish president who would like you to believe that he is the only person who can fix problems, and that we as a council do not get along.
“If we feel that the allocation of $500,000 will serve a purpose for drainage in the Bayou Vista area, then it will receive six votes,” he said.

The first proceeds of a 9-mill property tax for Hospital Service District No. 2 are in the bank. And the first scholarship supported by those funds has been awarded.
At Wednesday’s district board meeting, legal counsel Bill Bourgeois told members that the district has received $2.3 million raised by the tax in 2025. The tax passed Dec. 7, 2024, by a 70%-30% margin.
The tax is dedicated “to be used to improve, maintain, operate and support hospital and other health care facilities in the District, including but not limited to repairing existing facilities, acquiring equipment, and otherwise supporting the provision of hospital services.”
The ballot language said the tax is expected to raise about $3.4 million per year.
The impetus behind the call for a new property tax was repairing the damage inflicted by 2024’s Hurricane Francine at Ochsner St. Mary, the hospital owned by the district and operated under lease by Ochsner Health.
But the “supporting the provision of hospital services” language includes some other goals brought up in pre-election discussion, including putting the hospital in position to add new service lines and to provide scholarships for local students in health-related fields.
The first of those scholarship recipients is Landyn Leigh Lacoste, a Bayou Vista resident and Berwick High senior who plans to train as a radiology technician at Fletcher Technical Community College.
The scholarship is for about $2,500, Bourgeois said after the meeting, depending on the number of credits on the recipient’s schedule. Recipients will also be required to work in health care in St. Mary for two years.
The district hopes to leverage the property tax into something larger than the yearly tax proceeds. The board received approval from the St. Mary Parish Council and the State Bond Commission to borrow $6.7 million against future tax proceeds.
Francine caused water to infiltrate the hospital’s exterior. A temporary resealing has already been completed, with a more permanent fix in the plans.
Also needed is a new heating-ventilation-air conditioning system and other repairs throughout the building.
Bourgeois told the board Wednesday that repairs on an overhang on the hospital’s exterior are complete. The board also awarded a generator contract to DXI Electric of New Iberia on a low bid of $1.4 million.
Still to come are the exterior sealing work, new flooring in the hospital kitchen, a new water heater and heat exchanger, and replacement of the staff elevator.
Also Wednesday, the district OK’d its meeting schedule for 2026. The board will stick to its usual first-Wednesday meetings with no holidays to affect its schedule.

Romas Bourgeois Jr., 79, a resident of Patterson, died Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, at his residence.
Memorial services will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church in Morgan City.
He is survived by his wife, Willie Mae Ramagos Bourgeois; and children, Gary Bourgeois of Patterson and Robert Bourgeois of Arlington, Texas.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Louisiana is becoming more competitive for businesses that offer higher-paying jobs, leaders say, pointing to big projects like Hyundai Steel’s planned $5.8 billion mill in Ascension Parish.
They’re hoping that will reverse an ongoing trend of people moving out. A new relocation report says the state still ranks No. 1 on that list. 
Atlas Van Lines’ 2025 Migration Patterns Study, which tracked customer moves from Nov. 1, 2024, through Oct. 31, 2025, ranked Louisiana as the country’s most “outbound” state. The company said 66% of its shipments in Louisiana moved out during that time, compared to 34% that moved in. 
U.S. Census Bureau numbers also show a decline. Louisiana saw its population peak at 4.65 million in 2020, only to lose over 84,000 residents in the years that followed. 2024 projections showed a slight increase to 4.6 million, up from 4.59 million in 2023, but many parishes lost residents. 
Atlas said Americans are moving less overall because housing is expensive, homes are hard to find and many homeowners with low mortgage rates don’t want to give them up.
A December report from ATTOM ranked Louisiana as having one of the biggest issues with mortgages. ATTOM’s Housing Risk Report for the third quarter of 2025 found Louisiana accounted for 14 of the 50 U.S. counties with the highest share of “seriously underwater” mortgages, meaning homeowners owed at least 25% more than their homes’ estimated value. 
The report found the highest shares of seriously underwater mortgages in Calcasieu Parish (17.1% of homes with loans), Rapides (15.4%), Ouachita (13.6%), East Baton Rouge (13.1%) and Tangipahoa (13.1%).
Realtor.com reported Louisiana’s median list price in October was at $275,750.
Analysts said lower incomes, rising insurance costs and softening demand can worsen affordability and limit homeowners’ ability to sell and move.
“A high share of underwater mortgages raises concerns around reduced mobility, elevated risk of delinquency or default, and deferred maintenance,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor. 
At the same time, Louisiana leaders have promoted a string of big-ticket projects.
This week, Louisiana Economic Development said the state earned Business Facilities’ “Platinum Deal of the Year” for a second consecutive year, citing Hyundai’s facility as the publication’s top development project of 2025.
Gov. Jeff Landry called the back-to-back wins “unprecedented,” while LED Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said the award signals “an undeniable shift” in the state’s competitiveness.