(The Center Square) — Despite the council being under heat for unapproved spending by city attorneys, many ordinances were adopted in this week’s regular session to amend budgets and allocate funds for specific city projects.
The council adopted an ordinance amending the 2025 Streets and Drainage fund budget. This ordinance increased the budget by $75,000 for increased spending on unplanned street and drainage projects.
An ordinance to appropriate $42,558 from the Sewer Capital and Contingency Fund was adopted. The funds are being used to perform a pilot project at the Northwest Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The total contract for the Brownlee Road rehabilitation project is now estimated at $1.3 million after the council passed an ordinance that approved a report of change order. The increase totaled $212,000.
Two ordinances were adopted, amending the 2025 Water Fund Budget and the 2025 Sewer Fund Budget. An additional $6,000 is needed from the Water Fund Budget and an additional $5,000 from the Sewer Fund Budget.
The last item on old business was an ordinance to amend the 2024 State and State and Federal Grants Fund, Diversion Program Fund and Riverboat Gaming Trust Fund budgets. The amendments follow the Louisiana Local Government Budget Act.
New business on the agenda included an amendment to a previously approved ordinance relating to renovating the city council chambers.
The project’s cost and budget is $600,000, according to City Engineer Ben Rauschenbach. Funds were coming from the 2025 Jail and Municipal Building Fund. Repairs include seating replacement, updating finishes, replacement of acoustics, and additional audio/visual projectors and screens.
Rauschenbach proposed changing where the funds are coming from in Tuesday’s meeting. There is an outstanding amount in the 2018 LCDA bond that could cover the project, resulting in the closer of the bond. The bond surplus totals $681,135 and would eliminate the city’s need to use the jail and municipal funds.
