City leaders launch budget work

City officials presented to the City Council their respective funding requests to be included in the city’s $38.7 million proposed 2015 budget at Thursday’s annual budget workshop.
The proposed 2015 budget will be up for adoption at the Nov. 25 council meeting.
The city put $650,000 in the 2015 road royalty fund budget for road repairs, the mayor said. The funding will come from the city’s three-tenths cent sales tax set aside for road projects.
The sewer department has $300,000 in sewer rehabilitation projects planned for 2015. The expense is expected to be paid for out of the pollution abatement fund. Another $300,000 is going to be set aside for the sewer lift station, which will come from the capital additions and contingencies fund.
The public works department and water, sewer, gas department also requested $67,000 for a new backhoe.
In the water distribution department, officials have requested $25,000 for a service truck, $40,000 for contracted water valve installations, $45,000 for water main rehab and $30,000 for 10 fire hydrants.
The sanitation department included $30,000 in its request for new residential garbage cans. If new garbage trucks are necessary in 2015, the city will go before the finance committee to make that request, Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said.
Public Works Director Mike Loupe said officials are trying everything possible to keep the sanitation department functioning. Getting garbage drivers to show up to work is the biggest problem for the department, Loupe said.
One of the projects listed in the electric department’s budget is the implementation of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system, at a cost of $200,000, for the city’s power system.
The SCADA system is necessary to complete city’s fiber optic loop in order to allow city workers to isolate certain parts of the city in the event of a power outage. The expense is proposed to come out of the capital additions and contingencies fund.
Utilities Director Bill Cefalu said the city is applying for $1 million in capital outlay funding to make improvements to the city’s clear water well. The city would have to match $200,000 before it could receive the $1 million, Cefalu said.
At the city’s wastewater treatment plant, city officials are working to re-bid the headworks project that came in over-bid, Cefalu said. That part of the plant is in dire need of replacement, he said.
For the mosquito control department, $46,500 in not yet funded items was presented. Those items include a spray unit, a motor for the unit, pickup truck, John Deere gator and dissecting microscope. The city is now doing mosquito control with city employees as opposed to hiring a private company, a switch that has taken place in the past year.
The police department is looking to purchase two new police units at a cost of $60,000 to come from the general fund. Police Chief Michael Banks said the department is operating with 10 below the maximum number, though the chief is in the process of hiring some new employees. Those projected new hires are included in the proposed budget, he said. The department is operating with 48 employees right now.
The police department also has $100,000 budgeted for surveillance cameras, office equipment, an AC unit, and other equipment at the City Jail, Banks said. The expense is slated to come from the state prisoner fund. However, those expenditures are contingent upon the city continuing to receive its allotment from the sheriff’s office for housing female inmates, Grizzaffi said.
The fire department has $230,000 budgeted for the purchase of a fire truck to come from the general fund. The city will receive $100,000 from the parish in 2016 to cover part of that $230,000 cost, Finance Director Deborah Garber said.
In the recreation department, among items not yet funded is $37,000 for a batting cage. The item is a request to the Young Foundation. At Lake End Park, funded items in the 2015 budget include $20,000 for a pavilion restroom and $10,000 for tent bathrooms. At Lake End Parkway, a total of $30,000 is budgeted to go toward the construction of a playground.