Budget woes: APPJ forced to cut salaries

crowley - The Acadia Parish Police Jury is proposing across-the-board 20 percent cuts in pay for everyone whose salary is paid out of the parish General Fund.
That would include the jurors themselves.
Laura Faul, secretary-treasurer, told jurors during a special meeting Tuesday morning that the cuts are needed to make up an expected decrease of $650,000 in state Severance Tax revenues.
“Last year we got about $1 million in Severance Tax. We budgeted $950,000 this year and, to date, we’ve only received $290,200,” Faul said. “We’ve been informed by the state that that could be all we will receive this year.”
She explained that the proposed cut would affect only those employees paid out of the General Fund, including jurors, the police jury staff, district attorney, judges’ staffs, Office of Emergency Management, courthouse custodians and portions of salaries of employees in other offices, including the registrar of voters.
The cuts won’t impact the road crews, landfill, libraries, health unit or any other department that has its own dedicated funding source.
The idea of “dedicated funding” apparently presented a problem for some jurors.
Ronnie Fabacher asked that the jurors allow former parish secretary-treasurer Terry Lacombe to speak.
Lacombe, who ran against Fabacher for the District 2 seat on the jury in 2015, outlined a number of documents that he said would definitively show how much money the police jury has and where it is located.
He said he would not recommend a forensic audit of the parish “because that would cost the taxpayers $40,00 to $50,000.”
Asked if he remembers the fund balance for the parish when he left office nearly five years ago, Lacombe said “$15 million to $20 million.”
But Faul and Jury President David Savoy quickly intervened, saying that the figure Lacombe quoted represented an overall balance, including dedicated funds.
“The public needs to know that most of that money is dedicated to a specific use,” Savoy said. “Take the mosquito tax, we’ve built up an excess in that fund but we can’t touch that for anything except mosquito control.”
“There are rumors running rampant that there was a fund out there with $21 million in it that we were just feeding out of,” added Robert Guidry, vice president. “That’s just not so.”
That amount, it was explained, represents the combined fund balance of all the parish dedicated funds.
From there the discussion quickly degenerated to the point where jurors were arguing over who was responsible for the FEMA mandate that disaster waste be separated before it is picked up.
Fabacher said that he feels he and other jurors are “left out of the loop” and only find out about some matters “after the fact.”
An obviously upset Faul said she would make sure that Fabacher is informed of all day-to-day matters handled in the administrative office.
“I promise you will get more information than you ever wanted,” she said. “I will blow you up with information.”
When discussion finally came back around to the salaries and budget, jurors approved the 20 percent pay cut.
Faul explained that the cuts will only be temporary — “probably through the end of the year.”
Jurors will meet in another special session at 8 a.m. Friday to present the amended budget for approval.
Also concerning attempts balance the budget, a proposal to eliminate deferred compensation — employer match for such programs as 401(k) — was tabled until Friday’s meeting.
In other business, the jury:
• Took no action on a proposal to waive permit fees for flood victims after Lee Hebert explained that the type of work most of those impacted by rising water are doing in their homes does not require a permit.
• Agreed to compensate salaried employees who worked immediately following the flood when the courthouse was closed.
• Agreed not to include the cities of Crowley and Rayne in any aerial spraying for mosquitoes since both of those municipalities opted out of the parish mosquito control program funding and have their own programs.