Short agenda could possibly run to long meeting over bond issue

Published 9:00 am Sunday, September 19, 2021

ST. MARTINVILLE — The St. Martinville City Council has a short agenda Monday night, but the discussion could take a while as the body considers a one-year, $250,000 bond issue to help pay off vendors while it waits for higher utility revenues and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to begin flowing into the city’s coffers.

The revenue anticipation note would allow the city to pay some past due bills in the coming months, then pay back the bond through 2022.

The cash shortfall came about after Mayor Melinda Mitchell sandbagged an effort in 2020 to raise utility rates. Those rates were built into the 2020-2021 budget, but Mitchell did not propose any adjustments to account for the discrepancy when the utility customers were not charged at the higher rate.

Those increases finally hit customer bills in May, but the damage had already been done, with the administration spending for 10 months against projected revenues that had not been collected. That left a gap of anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 in the 2021-2022 budget.

Those shortfalls cannot be offset with ARPA funds, but drops in other revenue that could be tied to the COVID-19 shutdown and ongoing pandemic can be, which the council will also discuss Monday. At its Sept. 7 meeting, the council had approved hiring a consultant to guide the city through the ARPA legislation and its still untested requirements — including determining what costs the funds can be legally used to support.

The council will also discuss Mitchellr’s refusal to sign checks and purchase orders over $300. She had initially stopped signing checks last year, when the city was having to rebuild its accounts after former Chief Administrative Officer Shedrick Berard resigned. Even after the administration began receiving its regular updates on the city’s accounts, however, she has apparently refused to resume taking responsibility for the city finances.

In addition to missing the last two annual budget hearings, Mitchell has not provided any guidance or input for the council or current CAO Avis Gutekunst to follow in making adjustments to the city’s budget. The current budget document, including the cuts that were required in order to balance it, were made in her absence.

The St. Martinville City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the city council meeting room in St. Martinville City Hall, 120 New Market St. in St. Martinville.

The St. Martinville City Council is also scheduled to:

• Consider hiring a police officer
• Discuss the reapportionment of council districts based on data from the 2020 Census