City officials pore over 2017 budget

Morgan City government leaders plan to be lean on spending in 2017 and try to make do with what they have as much as possible.
The City Council and other city officials held a budget workshop Monday to discuss the proposed 2017 budget. The city’s fiscal year follows the calendar year. The council is scheduled to adopt the budget at its November meeting after having introduced the proposed budget in September.
The proposed $35.3 million budget is down from 2016’s budget of $35.7 million, Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi in his September budget message. City leaders expect to bring in about $33.7 million in revenues and have an ending fund balance of $26.1 million.
Because of the slump in the economy, officials do not anticipate funding any capital projects in 2017 and budgeted for a 2 percent decrease from the 2016 sales and use tax collections. The pro-posed cutbacks won’t have any effect on services provided, though, Grizzaffi said.
Officials plan to continue to fix roads using road royalty funds but at a slower pace, while they wait for the economy to turn around and make sure the city has money available to do what’s needed, Grizzaffi said.
Each department head was present at Monday’s meeting to answer questions about their portion of the city budget.
Utilities Director Bill Cefalu said that department doesn’t have much extra money to spend right now with the projects it’s currently doing. Officials have been working on a project for the past few years to create a fiber optic loop, which will allow workers to isolate a power substation for maintenance without shutting off all power in the city.
Cefalu plans to apply again in 2017 to try to get $1 million state capital outlay funds to replace a clarifier at the water treatment plant. Getting new clarifiers would save the city money on maintenance costs, Cefalu said.
Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said the fire department doesn’t need any major equipment for 2017, having purchased a new fire truck last year and is nearly fully-staffed.
Police Chief James Blair said the police department has done well lowering overtime costs. The proposed budget includes $185,000 in police over-time costs, down from the $225,000 in the 2016 amended budget and $300,000 for the 2015 actual budget.
Grizzaffi asked the police department to look for ways to further reduce overtime expenses, including possibly hiring an extra dispatcher. That position is the toughest to train, though, Capt. Teddy Liner said.
At the city jail, the police department is now housing Assumption Parish female pretrial detainees, which is bringing in some $17 per inmate per day for the jail, Blair said. Morgan City police were already housing female inmates for the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Public Works Director Mike Loupe said the city cemetery is running short on space, and the city doesn’t have the $350,000 needed in the cemetery fund to pay for a mausoleum. Finance Director Deborah Garber said the city could probably borrow money, if necessary, to build the mausoleum.
In the gas department, Loupe said regulations have changed and Water-Sewer-Gas Supervisor Kawika Kaai recently became qualified to do certifications in the city, which will save a significant amount of money. The city can also run its own public awareness campaigns associated with natural gas, Loupe said.
“We’re getting to where we’re pretty much self-sufficient in the gas department,” Loupe said.
The city’s switch to doing its own mosquito spraying, instead of contracting out the service, has allowed the city to be more strategic in its spraying, Loupe said.
Public Works Supervisor Jean Paul Bourg said the city wants to spend $10,000 on new monitoring systems for its mosquito control trucks to better keep track of spraying in the city. Grizzaffi said city officials will take that expense into consideration.
Officials are hoping to start in January on the Myrtle Street sewer rehab project to change a main pipe and use $167,000 in federal funds to help pay for the estimated $330,000 project, Kaai said. The city didn’t spend its 2016 annual allotment of $300,000, so officials may be able to use some of that money in 2017 on the project, Garber said.
The Morgan City Municipal Auditorium’s roof has continually had problems with leaking, and officials have made temporary fixes over the years, Recreation and Culture Director Dwayne Barbier said. The city requested $71,000 from the H&B Young Foundation to waterproof the building and try to fix the leaks, Grizzaffi said. Replacing the roof would be much more expensive at a cost of $400,000, Barbier said.
At the city’s refurbished petting zoo on Myrtle Street, city leaders anticipate the zoo to generate $28,000 by years’ end, Garber said.
In the recreation department, Grizzaffi said recreation commission members asked the city to provide $5,000 to help subsidize city softball, baseball, basketball and flag football programs in 2017. Councilmembers spoke in favor of providing that allocation.