(The Center Square) — Caddo Parish’s May financials showed $1.5 million in general fund revenue for the month, but the parish is still running a deficit for the year so far.
In the governmental funds category, the general fund sits in a $3.9 million deficit year to date. While the parish has made $2.6 million year to date in revenues, expenses totaled $6.5 million, leaving a loss of $3.9 million. For May, the parish made $1.5 million and only expensed $791,000 in the general fund.
The $1.5 million in revenue for May includes $1.2 million for Louisiana Oil and Gas severance tax revenue and $100,000 in federal grants.
The monthly financial report shows both year to date data and monthly data through May 31.
As for expenses, salaries are top of list with commissioner salaries expensed year to date adding up to $105,000. The parish’s anticipated budget for commissioner salaries is $273,000.
Additional expenses include criminal justice.
With criminal justice being a hot topic among commission meetings as the city sought additional funding through millage rates, the Caddo Parish Correctional Center is near capacity as Commissioner John-Paul Young and Parish Chief Administrative Officer Erica Bryant have noted.
The special revenue funds are dedicated to specific detention facilities fund expenses.
The parish budgeted for $826,000 in Caddo Correctional Center regular employee salaries, and year to date, the parish has spent $227,000. In total, for Caddo Correctional Center facility and maintenance expenses, the parish budgeted $4.7 million.
Statutory appropriations for the Caddo Correctional Center in May include $45,000 expensed on clothing and linens, $116,000 on feeding and housing prisoners and $19,000 on transporting prisoners.
The detention facilities fund brought in $21,000 in year-to-date revenue. However, expenses sit at $3.58 million, resulting in a $3.56 million loss thus far. Back in April, financials showed the Detention Facilities Fund had $16,580 in revenue and had spent $2.3 million, marking another month of a reported loss.
The Juvenile Justice Fund also shows a year to date loss of $2.7 million.
In a previous commission meeting, additional funding was passed by way of millage rates for the parish. Before its passage, however, the topic of public safety was brought forward as Young and Bryant expressed concerns over the increased need for funding.
As of now, the parish will collect a slightly higher rate in various millages in hopes of supplementing additional costs in the criminal justice system.
