Final budget set for discussion, approval Monday

Published 9:00 am Sunday, June 23, 2019

ST. MARTINVILLE — The St. Martinville City Council will meet Monday afternoon to finalize its 2019-2020 budget in a special meeting, then roll into its regular meeting to adopt the document.

The council will gather at 4:30 p.m. to go over the budget, which is being prepared with help from the accounting firm Kolder Slaven and Company, the city’s independent auditor, after the short-lived tenure of former Chief Administrative Officer Shedrick Berard left the city’s financial status adrift. Incoming CAO Avis Gutekunst began work on June 8.

Council members were concerned at the beginning of the 2018-2019 fiscal year that the city would have to keep a tight rein on finances. But multiple unforeseen expenses, like the hiring of the auditing firm to prepare the budget document and the payment of Faulk and Winkler LLC, a private accounting firm, to help rebuild the city’s books after Berard’s departure, may have put a dent in what was a narrow fiscal margin.

As of the council’s last meeting, it was not clear where the city’s bottom line stood as the fiscal year draws to a close. Even with the additional administrative help, the accounts for the city had only been reconciled through January, leaving five months of receipts and expenses yet to be evaluated.

The council also has several other items to discuss during its regular session. Evangeline Mobile Home Park owner Mark Brignac is scheduled to again discuss reimbursement for costs he has incurred while trying to get the electrical service for his park updated. The council had previously denied the reimbursement.

The council may go into executive session to discuss a defamation complaint from a St. Martinville City Police officer. In a discussion during the June 3 meeting, Berard claimed a bill went unpaid, blaming a police officer for an error on his report of a Feb. 19 incident involving a Lafayette Utilities vehicle. The officer has filed a complaint against Berard, saying that there are no errors in the report.

An item was also added to the agenda to discuss providing personal security for Mayor Melinda Mitchell after council meetings.

The St. Martinville City Council will hold its budget hearing at 4:30 p.m. Monday, with the regular meeting following at 6 p.m., in the city council meeting room, 120 New Market St. in St. Martinville.