City Adopts Budget Without Discussion
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
After two financially contentious meetings and several hours of public discussion, the Opelousas Board of Alderman approved a 2025-26 operating budget Tuesday night without any challenges.
Alderwoman Delita Broussard cast the only dissenting vote on the budget which was questioned at length previously during a special Aug. 26 meeting by several members of the board.
Broussard said after the Tuesday night meeting that she was absent from the Aug. 26 meeting and she did not have enough information to raise any concerns.
City Treasurer Lawanda St. Ann told the Board on Aug. 26 that at some point during the fiscal year that the budget might need to be amended to reflect dedicated one-cent sales tax revenue collections that will recommence beginning Oct. 1.
What the 2025-26 city general fund budget does show are projected revenues of $10.7 million, cuts for nearly every major municipal department and $19 million in overall departmental expenditures.
The city used $29 million to operate in 2024-25, the budget shows, while expenses last year totaled $12.1 million.
According to the approved budget for this year, the city received $6.6 million in 2024-25 from the 1-cent sales tax. This year the city is expected to collect nearly $6 million from the same tax, which has not been collected for the last two months after the city administration allowed the tax to expire without calling a renewal election.
During her monthly August revenue-expenses report, St. Ann estimated that the city has lost $857,440 in sales tax revenues since the 1-cent sales tax expired. The city still has another month of projected sales tax losses in September before the tax can be collected again starting in October.
The August budget summary also reveals a $694,291 loss for the month, which was partially offset by a combined $225,247 in combined profits during the same period from municipal water and sewerage revenues.
St. Ann also pointed out that the total August revenue loss ($464,044) was also due to compensating city workers with three payroll checks instead of the normal two payments each month.
There was also less August revenue, St. Ann said, due to fewer purchases of occupational licenses and building permits.
At the Sept. 26 special meeting which approved an amended 2024-25 budget, several members of the Board questioned expenditures for employee use of fuel cards and the total amount allocated for car workers’ allowances.
The adopted amended budget for last year shows the city spent $42,742 for car allowances, which was about $6,000 more than was originally budget for 2024-25.
According to the budget for this year, the municipal car allowance is projected to cost $39,180..
