Mayor explains causes, tough choices behind Baldwin legislative audit report

Baldwin Mayor Wayne Breaux replied to questions regarding media coverage of a recent legislative auditor’s report on the town.
Posing the question was Tony Gibson, who said newspapers have reported on the audit and asked for clarification.
Breaux said the town’s bond issues taken for construction of the water plant come with certain requirements. One of those requirements is that customers with unpaid water bills become delinquent on the 15th of each month, and are disconnected for nonpayment on the 25th of each month.
“We somewhat find that to be pretty hard, pretty tough, and we’re appealing to change that agreement so that we won’t be in violation but up to this point we haven’t been successful,” the mayor said. “Probably by the next meeting we’ll have to follow through with that. There are certain agreements about how high the water bill has to be. We may have to go up on the water bill. And that’s going to be forced upon us.”
The town has for many years attempted to keep utility rates low for Baldwin’s residents and businesses, Breaux said. “Now we’re going to be forced,” he said.
Gibson said Baldwin’s water is “the worst in St. Mary Parish and you’re going to slap the people in the face with something like that.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Breaux repeated. “If you read the newspaper, we don’t have a choice. The bond issue was the main thing, as well as the debt, which I’ve been preaching for many, many years, that we have to do something with that debt.”
Breaux said the town has paid off several debts over the last two years, along with other savings such as insurance premiums. But that may not be enough to stall raising utility fees, he said.
Gibson wanted to know how the town got into a situation where those debts were overwhelming.
“I’ve preached it to you and I’ve preached it everybody,” Breaux said. “We lost $175,000 (in annual grants) from the casino about six years ago. At the same time we picked up the debt at the community center.” Grants did not cover the total cost of that facility, so Baldwin combined local funds with bond issues to build it.
Alderwoman Margaret Coleman said she’s heard many questions from citizens about the audit.
Breaux said he’s explained the town’s financial situation repeatedly at the board’s monthly meetings, noting that he’s turned down many requests for funding such as from the St. Mary Council on Aging. “It’s no different than what we’ve been in, and now that we’re paying off some of this debt it may solve some of that,” he said. “We could solve all this and make the legislative auditor happy by raising rates on everything we have. That would tickle them to death and they would say how wonderful a job I’m doing. But do you want to do that to the citizens? Without trying to make it work? That’s what we’ve been trying to do, and it’s tough on me, my staff and everything we do, day-to-day, to make sure we can pay bonds.”
The mayor repeated that the board and he have always struggled to keep rates low for utility customers, and currently Baldwin has the lowest such rates in the region.
Alderman Mike Lancelin said the town may have to raise rates to satisfy legal requirements, and comply with utility cutoff requirements.
“The people needed to know this,” Coleman said.
“It was in the newspaper,” Lancelin said.
“I answered it specifically at the last meeting,” Breaux added.
“When you read something like that you have to read it with an open mind, not thinking somebody’s lying to you,” Alderwoman Thor Frederick said.
Gibson continued to insist the board had never explained the cause of the rate schedule or the audit.
Frederick said the board holds public hearings for every ordinance it proposes for adoption, including utility rate changes. “Nobody ever shows up,” she said. “There has not been a human being in here. Then they get their bill and they have a fit.”
Breaux said sales tax collections, while improving, have also not been sufficient to cover expenses.
Lancelin said a tax may be necessary as well.
The parish is considering a seven-tenths sales tax be placed on the ballot for voter approval. Baldwin’s share of that would be about $180,000 annually. The tax would be earmarked for roads, drainage and public safety.