The tune was decidedly different this December compared to December 2013 when it came to the St. John the Baptist Parish Council passing an operating budget.

Council members passed the budget last week at a regularly scheduled meeting, a difference from last year when a special called meeting was needed Dec. 30, 2013, to get the same task accomplished.

Not everyone was in total agreement, but that is never possible when there are nine voting members and a host of parish administrators.

Although handled professionally, the biggest contention this year among Parish Council members bubbled to the surface between District V Councilman Michael Wright and Division A Councilman At Large Lucien Gauff III.

Wright proposed an across-the-board salary increase of 2.5 percent, but left the parish president, chief administrative officer and utilities director out of that increase. He said leaving CAO Michael Coburn out was done because Coburn took office in October and a salary increase wasn’t justified months later.

Ameba-in-the-water concerns were cited in the exclusion of Parish President Natalie Robottom and Utilities Director Virgil Rayneri.

Most of the Council agreed, as Wright’s amendments were passed by a 8-1 majority — Gauff voting against.

Gauff spoke at the meeting Dec. 23, saying that was the first time he was able to hear about Wright’s suggested changes and did not feel it correct to vote on something the same day.

It’s a reasonable point.

A $50,000 increase to the drainage projects fund and increases to the “special needs” and “senior program” line items in the parish’s recreation department, as well as earmarking $25,000 for the Creole Farmers’ Market and $10,000 for the Boogie Joseph Center improvements were other changes Wright advocated.

During Dec. 23’s budget approval, Robottom told Council members the approved amendments were “not representative of what good government should do,” because she said the changes were the first her staff had heard of despite line-by-line budget meetings available for Council members to attend.

The disconnect between Robottom, Gauff, Wright and the rest of the Council is disconcerting in the wake of some negative headlines the parish has received recently and is something all parties need to address in the future.

Still, the contention in 2014 was nothing compared to what took place in 2013, when a special-called meeting was necessary (one not all board members attended) and questions about work ethic, overstepping authoritative boundaries and holiday declaration lowlighted the pointed comments all involved shared with the public.

We’ve made progress, but more is needed.