By David Vitrano
L’Observateur

HAHNVILLE – St. Charles Parish President V.J. St. Pierre’s proposed 2014 budget includes, reductions in both revenue and expenditures, to the parish council Monday.
The proposed budget includes nearly $93 million in revenue, about $24 million less than in the last adopted budget. Year’s end estimates, however, bring that difference to slightly more than $4 million. This revenue, coupled with a $60 fund balance, gives the parish about $153.5 million to spend in the coming year.
Expenditures are also down in the proposed budget. At $131 million, proposed expenditures are more than $10 million less that the original 2013 budget, although year’s end projections place that figure closer to $124.5 million.
The first of two public hearings on the budget was held Tuesday morning at the Edward A. Dufresne Community Center in Luling. Another will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at the courthouse in Hahnville.
The budget is expected to go up for council approval in November.