LEONARD GRAY

HAHNVILLE – The financially strapped wastewater treatment system in St. Charles Parish again came under the scrutiny of the St. Charles Parish Council. A resolution offered Monday by Terry Authement and G. “Ram” Ramchandran, aimed at providing some financial relief while trimming expenses, was slammed down by the rest of the council in attendance. The resolution, Authement explained, would take one-third of the parish’s current sales taxes, billed as being dedicated to the sewer department, and actually sending the money to the department out of the parish’s General Fund. “Please consider earmarking some of this money or we will have another rate increase,” Authement urged. A half-cent sales tax dedicated to sewer programs was approved in 1979, and a 3/8-cent sales tax dedicated to sewer programs was approved in 1983. Since then, a half-cent sales tax dedicated to operations and maintenance of the regional sewage treatment plants was rejected April 7. This prompted a rate hike from $1.80 to $3.24 per 1,000 gallons, with further built-in increases. The attempt Monday failed in a 6-2 vote with Councilman Lance Marino absent. Councilman Clayton “Snookie” Faucheux said the tax money is already dedicated by a council-approved budget in a host of funds and nowhere in the proposal does it spell out which funds will be affected. Authement said such council “luxuries” as cellular telephones, vehicles and trips for parish employees could be cut out. “That’s a burning (issue) with me on these automobiles,” he said. He said he tried a similar attempt to “trim the fat” from the council budgets “and I got laughed out of the building. If it’s a nickel a week, lets’ earmark it for capital improvements.” This comes on the eve of the National Association of Counties convention, set July 13-17, in Philadelphia. The St. Charles Parish delegation, according to the council office, includes Parish President Albert Laque and council members Ramchandran, Dee Abadie, Authement, April Black, Barry Minnich and Faucheux. Also joining the group are Parish Administrator Timothy Vial, Purchasing Director Susan Wilson, Executive Secretary Carolyn Louviere, Assistant Public Works Director Palmer “Poochie” Cheramie, Council Secretary Barbara Jacob, Council Staff Members Monica Williams and Sandra Miguez, Economic Development Director Corey Faucheux and Economic Development employee Trudy Deshotels.