News sobering for parish finance committee

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, October 28, 2020

By The Iberia Parish Council met as its Finance Committee Monday evening for the last of four sessions to discuss the proposed 2021 consolidated budget for the parish.
As with the other three sessions held this month, the news was sobering. The lack of revenue coming from state mineral royalties has had an impact on the parish operations, especially road maintenance. According to Iberia Parish Public Works Director Dexter Miguez, that is not going to change.
“The road budget is about the same as last year,” Miguez said.
Parish Chief Finance Officer Kim Segura explained that there is some money available, but not the millions that are needed to do any major road programs.
“We do receive approximately a million dollars in state funding,” Segura said. “We put about $350,000 in the road fund. The rest goes in the general fund.”
The parish will also be looking at a leaner drainage department. Miguez said he will be leaving five unfilled positions vacant in order to put movie toward equipment sorely in need of replacement.
“Those tractors are 10 years old,” he said. “There’s metal fatigue on the cutters. That is why I am going with tractors instead of filling those positions.”
Over the last four years, the parish has deferred maintenance and replacement of equipment as much as possible to cut expenditures during the energy slump, but that method of keeping the budget afloat only lasts for so long.
“That is why we are going with this,” Parish President Larry Richard said. “Herman (Broussard, the previous Public Works director) had been looking at this to avoid so much downtime because the equipment is so worn.”
The parish administration will have a little over a month to make changes as discussed during the meetings held this month. The finalized budget is set to be adopted at the council’s first meeting in December, which has been set for Dec. 2.

Iberia Parish Finance Officer Kim Segura and Public Works Director Dexter Miguez spoke to the parish council finance committee Monday about the lack of revenue in the parish.

The Iberia Parish Council met as its Finance Committee Monday evening for the last of four sessions to discuss the proposed 2021 consolidated budget for the parish.

As with the other three sessions held this month, the news was sobering. The lack of revenue coming from state mineral royalties has had an impact on the parish operations, especially road maintenance. According to Iberia Parish Public Works Director Dexter Miguez, that is not going to change.

“The road budget is about the same as last year,” Miguez said.

Parish Chief Finance Officer Kim Segura explained that there is some money available, but not the millions that are needed to do any major road programs.

“We do receive approximately a million dollars in state funding,” Segura said. “We put about $350,000 in the road fund. The rest goes in the general fund.”

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The parish will also be looking at a leaner drainage department. Miguez said he will be leaving five unfilled positions vacant in order to put movie toward equipment sorely in need of replacement.

“Those tractors are 10 years old,” he said. “There’s metal fatigue on the cutters. That is why I am going with tractors instead of filling those positions.”

Over the last four years, the parish has deferred maintenance and replacement of equipment as much as possible to cut expenditures during the energy slump, but that method of keeping the budget afloat only lasts for so long.

“That is why we are going with this,” Parish President Larry Richard said. “Herman (Broussard, the previous Public Works director) had been looking at this to avoid so much downtime because the equipment is so worn.”

The parish administration will have a little over a month to make changes as discussed during the meetings held this month. The finalized budget is set to be adopted at the council’s first meeting in December, which has been set for Dec. 2.

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