MONROE, La. – The Ouachita Parish Police Jury expects to end the current year with a revenue shortfall of some $1.3 million in its primary operating fund because of its purchase of new office space in downtown Monroe.
At its regular meeting on Monday, the Police Jury signed off on budgets for the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years, with projected deficits of $1.3 million and $571,000, respectively.
The projected deficits in the Police Jury’s general fund, or primary operating fund, reflected the Police Jury’s decision earlier this year to buy three buildings owned by the Ouachita Parish School Board in Monroe. The Police Jury spent some $1.2 million for School Board’s former offices, a few blocks south of the Ouachita Parish Courthouse, which currently houses the jury’s offices.
“Anyone familiar with the courthouse knows we are out of room,” said Police Jury President Shane Smiley. “We have people in every cubbyhole.”
“We have boxes stored along the walls of the hallway,” he added, pointing to stacks of filing boxes around him.
Last year, the School Board relocated to the former West Monroe Junior High School building on North 7th Street in West Monroe.
“We’ve allocated money to the new buildings,” Smiley said. “We knew we’d have to spend some money.”
Buying new buildings was only possible because of a healthy fund balance of some $12 million, according to Smiley.
“We have a positive fund balance, that’s why we can do this,” he said.
In its general fund in 2020, the Police Jury collected some $9 million in revenues while expenditures totaled nearly $10.1 million. After all transfers, the general fund realized a deficit of some $1.3 million, dropping its fund balance to roughly $10.7 million.
In 2021, the Police Jury expects its general fund revenues to reach some $7 million, and general fund expenditures are projected to total some $7.1 million, leaving a deficit of roughly $571,000.
Parish treasurer Brad Cammack said the projected deficit in 2020 resulted from buying new buildings, and the Police Jury expected to realize a deficit in 2021 after remodeling those new buildings.
“It’s more affordable for us to spend money in phases renovating a building than it would be for us to build something new,” Smiley said.
Speaking of the general fund, Smiley said, “That’s less than five percent of our total budget.”
Though the Police Jury expects to realize deficits in 2020 and 2021 in its primary operating fund, the Police Jury manages many more budgets totaling roughly $100 million, too. Most of the Police Jury’s budgets operate through dedicated taxes, and a review of all the Police Jury’s budgets of some $99.8 million showed a projected surplus of roughly $3.1 million.
Police Jury Vice President Jack Clampit and Police Juror Michael Thompson Sr. said they would like to see the Police Jury begin relocating to its new offices in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the Police Jury agreed to pay a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm $60,000 in 2021 to represent its interests in lobbying federal officials.
The Police Jury will pay $5,000 a month to the Picard Group, a Lafayette and Washington, D.C. lobbying firm that employs former 5th District Congressman Rodney Alexander. Alexander was present at the Police Jury’s meeting.
Clampit credited local state officials, like Rep. Foy Gadberry, R-West Monroe, for collaborating with police jurors in securing funding or addressing legal hurdles facing Ouachita Parish. Clampit said he hoped police jurors could meet with the Picard Group soon as well as with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s office to discuss upcoming parish projects.
“One of the things we suffer from is that we don’t have good communication,” Clampit said. “I’m going to give Gadberry his due. He calls me when they’re in session and says, ‘What can I do for you?’ That’s the relationship we need with the Picard Group and with Cassidy’s office.”
On another front, the Police Jury approved a 1.5-percent cost of living adjustment, or raise, for all parish employees in 2021 based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), set at 1.3 percent for the coming year.
Police Juror Larry Bratton offered the motion while Police Juror Scotty Robinson seconded the motion.
