By Aly Davis

Contributing Writer

HAHNVILLE – As 2012 nears its end, members of the St. Charles Parish government are working toward approving the St. Charles Parish Consolidated Operating and Capital Budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2013.

“The priorities for the 2013 budget remain the same (as the priorities for the 2012 budget),” Chief Financial Officer Grant Dussom explained, with the addition to four specific projects: first, a $5.5 million renovation of the St. Charles Parish Administrative Building; second, “approximately $770,000 in increased allocation to the Parish Recreation fund”; third, “a $600,000 transfer to our Wastewater Department for capital outlay”; and fourth, what Dussom calls the most important, an increase of $5 million “to our West Bank Hurricane Protection Fund as a result of increased sales tax collections.”  

Parish President V.J. St. Pierre stated in the budget message that the St. Charles Parish Consolidated Operating and Capital Budget “is a reflection of the financial plan for providing essential governmental services to the public for 2013. Our community is growing quickly, and the parish must be able to meet the increased demand for services.”

St. Charles Parish’s revenue for 2013 is expected to be at $104 million, with expenditures of $139.7 million. An estimated $60 million will be carried over from the accumulated fund balance.

The majority of the 2013 revenue for St. Charles Parish comes from sales tax collections, “49 percent of budgeted revenues,” continued St. Pierre. Tax collections have varied greatly over the past 10 years because of the U.S. economy as well as “varying industrial activity in the parish,” but after 2012’s projected 23.26 percent tax collection increase the parish’s sales tax collection office expects a slight decrease in sales taxes for the 2013. Revenue will also be obtained in the following areas: ad valorem tax (28 percent of budgeted revenue), state and federal funding (14 percent) and licenses, permits and other fees (9 percent).

By far the largest expenditure for St. Charles Parish in 2013 is a budgeted total of $18.7 million for the West Bank Hurricane Protection Levee. In addition to parish expenditures, the parish has also been “approved for nearly $12.5 million from the state for levee and pump station work.” At the second budget hearing on Oct. 25, Richard Borden, vice president of the Sunset Drainage District, explained to the council that by 2017 they plan to have all levees at or above the FEMA-recommended eight feet.

In case of emergencies, the council recently approved an ordinance saying the fund balance may be no less than $7 million at any point. St. Pierre pleaded in the budget message, however, that the balance stay at no less than $8 million, reminding the council and St. Charles Parish residents “Hurricane Isaac alone is estimated to cost the parish upwards of $4 million.”

Budget planning for St. Charles Parish began in June, with budget requests by each parish department submitted July 31. Three budget hearings, which occurred Oct. 23, 25 and 30, allowed the heads of each department to explain what the funds apportioned to them will be used for during 2013, as well as submit requests for changes to the budget before the council.

“The Council has until Nov. 30 to adopt a budget or else the proposed budget will be enacted as is,” explained Renee Simpson, public information officer for St. Charles Parish. The adopted budget will go into effect Jan. 1, 2013.

For St. Charles Parish members who have not had the opportunity to attend the parish council budget hearings, each parish department must come before the council as explained above. In the second of three budget hearings on Thursday, Oct. 25, Reverend L. J. Frickey of the Life Fellowship Church in Bayou Gauche led all those in attendance in a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance before Council Chairman Larry Cochran introduced Judge Lauren Lemmon of District D. Lemmon expressed her gratitude for the assistance of the Council in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac in getting parish government running smoothly again, and requested a one-time $10,000 addition to her budget to update technology in District D office.

Fred Martinez, CEO of St. Charles Parish Hospital, explained that the hospital’s fiscal year begins in July, and it has for three months been acting on the 2012-2013 budget. However, much depends on the results of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6 and the subsequent phasing in or out of the Affordable Care Act under the orders of the elected president. In either case, the amount of uncompensated care will change, and the hospital’s budget will be affected. Changes will undoubtedly be necessary.

Others who addressed the council in the 40-minute meeting Thursday night included Judge Michele Morel of District E; Parish Coroner Dr. Brian Bogle; Robert Brou, director of the St. Charles Water Works Department; April Keller, director of the Council on Aging; Mark Keiser, CEO of Access Health Louisiana; and L.J. Frickey of the Drainage Department. Each explained the accomplishments and needs of their respective departments.

For more information about the St. Charles Parish Consolidated Operating and Capital Budget for 2013, visit stcharlesgov.net. The full budget can be viewed online at http://www.stcharlesgov.net/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4203.