St. Martinville council to consider raising utility rates

Published 9:00 am Sunday, August 15, 2021

ST. MARTINVILLE — The St. Martinville City Council will consider raising its rates for electric utility customers to address the hole left in the city’s operating budget last year at its regular meeting Monday night.

Several items directly regarding the city’s finances are on the agenda for the meeting, including a presentation from Chief Administrative Officer Avis Gutekunst on the draft statement of operations for June, another discussion with District 5 Councilman Edmond Joseph on why the council members’ checks were not available on the first of the month, and the item from Mayor Pro Tem Craig Prosper to raise the rates for electric service.

The city saw its cost for wholesale electricity drop after it signed a new contract with CLECO in January, 2019. But instead of utilizing the savings to invest in its aging infrastructure or to add to the city’s enterprise fund, the city dropped its rate for electricity to consumers. The enterprise fund feeds into the city’s general fund, which in turn allows the administration to fund other work in the city, including additional police, public works and recreation expenses.

The 2020-2021 budget passed last year included an increase in utility rates for water and electricity that Burton Kolder, the city’s auditor, recommended.

But the rate increases were held up last spring after Mayor Melinda Mitchell made a political issue of the process, saying she had not been part of the decision. She then asked for time to have representatives of the Rural Water Association study the city’s rates and make a recommendation.

Even after that, the changes in rates for portions of the city’s utilities did not take effect until the May 2021 bills — far too late for the 2020-2021 budget, and far too little. The rates for electricity, and subsequently the enterprise fund for the city’s operations, were not included in that increase. According to the numbers presented during the budget discussions in June, the lapse left a hole of anywhere between $250,000 and $500,000 in the city’s coffers.

Mitchell, who has continued to fight the rate increase, said the delay was not her fault. Yet when changes were needed to bring the 2021-2022 budget into balance before its adoption, she was not available due to medical leave. That made the second year in a row she abdicated her duties during the budget process.

The budgetary woes have not gone unnoticed. According to an official with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office, the state auditor is aware of the issues in the city, but is not yet prepared to take action.

“The Louisiana Legislative Auditor has been contacted, and has spoken with various people involved in the issues at hand,” said LLA Director of Local Government Services Diane Allison. “We are keeping an eye on the progress.”

The city’s current debt is not the only issue that has been brought before the state auditor. Joseph filed a complaint with the LLA when his paycheck was not ready to be picked up on the first of the month, even though the issue had been addressed at the council’s meeting in July.

The council will also discuss the sudden resignation of Kevin Guidry, the recently hired supervisor for the electric department. According to Mitchell, she had received complaints from workers in the department after he had been on the clock for barely a week. But when she required him to come to a meeting in her office with the employees, instead of allowing recently departed Public Works supervisor Brian Touchet to handle it, Guidry quit instead.

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

The St. Martinville City Council is also scheduled to:

• Discuss a report on the citizen advisory committee for the St. Martinville Police Department as well as a request from Manuel Robertson to hold a Stop the Violence Rally.
• Get an update on the status of previous annexation petitions from City Legal Counsel Allan Durand.
• Consider leasing a portion of the J.B. Talley building adjacent to the Festival Grounds and the sale of a mobile home stored at Adam Carlson Park.
• Consider hiring a full-time police officer and a part-time crime scene photographer.
• Approve the purchase of two new zero-turn mowers for the city’s parks.
• Adopt a resolution supporting a waiver of Louisiana’s non-state match requirement for capital outlay projects.
• Consider hiring a Public Works maintenance supervisor and a certified pool operator for the city pool.
• Consider an employee request for special accommodation in working conditions, which may require an executive session.