Iberia Parish council to vote on canal project, Jeanerette Board to adopt budget

Published 1:15 am Sunday, May 8, 2022

IBERIA PARISH COUNCIL

The Iberia Parish Council will vote to amend the budget to account for state funds that are planned to aid the Jefferson Canal at Wednesday’s meeting.

The council will vote to amend the 2022 Royalty Fund Budget in the amount of nearly $2.6 million to appropriate state funding through Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority for engineering and construction services for the Jefferson Canal.

The money is to be funded with grant revenues. The resolution will also allow the parish president to execute an intergovernmental agreement between the state of Louisiana through the CPRA board and the Iberia Parish Government regarding the construction of the Jefferson Canal water control structure. In other business, the council will vote to introduce the new millage rates for the fiscal year.

The rates include 4.05 mills for the General Parish millage, 2.02 for the Exempted Municipalities Millage, 5.76 for the Public Library Millage and 4.68 for the Building Maintenance Millage.

Comments from the general public for a public hearing to consider the levying of additional increased millage rates will take place at the meeting as well. Comments increasing the millage rates without further voter approval or adopting the adjusted millage rates after reassessment and rolling forward to rates not to exceed the prior year’s maximum will also be considered.

The meeting takes place at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Iberia Parish Courthouse.

JEANERETTE BOARD OF ALDERMEN

The Jeanerette Board of Aldermen will vote to adopt the 2023 fiscal budget at Monday’s regular board meeting.

The ordinance adoption comes after a special budget meeting was held last month for the board and city department heads to review the budget and present concerns before the proposed budget was adopted.

Several budget agendas were discussed during the course of that meeting, including raising the minimum pay for city employees to $9.

Some of the aldermen said that even though $9 would be better than what is currently on the books for city minimum pay, the baseline should go even further and start at $10.

However, other board members were concerned that a $10 base pay would not be sustainable for city finances down the road.

“The only thing I’m worried about is sustainability,” Lancon said at the meeting. “I don’t know if we can sustain that down the road, insurance costs go up.”

The issue was left without a clear resolution and will likely be addressed before the budget is put up for adoption.

Other issues presented by the board included the elimination of the city’s participation in permitting. Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr. said the city currently serves as a “middle man” between those seeking permits and Iberia Parish Government, which issues those permits. Under the new budget, the city would no longer be involved in the process and those seeking a permit would go straight to the Iberia Parish Government.

Board members like ClarenBoace Clark said the change could put an extra burden on those in Jeanerette seeking permits. However, Bourgeois said the issue could be visited at a later date.

In other business, the board will vote to adopt another ordinance setting rules around trash fires within Jeanerette city limits.

Trash fires in the town have been cited as a constant complaint within Jeanerette, and the board hopes the amendments to the law will regulate the times in which they can occur.

After the issue was discussed at the April 11 meeting, the board agreed to set a designated time where outdoor trash burning could occur between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The ordinance would also require the fire to be set at least 50 feet away from nearby structures as opposed to the current requirement of 20 feet. The fire would also have to be supervised at all times.

The meeting takes place at 6 p.m. Monday at Jeanerette City Hall.