City of V.P. to approve budget at special meeting

A special Ville Platte City Council meeting will be held on Thursday, June 28, 2018, at 12:00 p.m. to approve the city’s amended budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018 and its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The meeting will take place at city hall with a public hearing being held on these two items beginning at 11:45 a.m.
At the council’s meeting earlier this month, the city’s CPA, Dana Quebedeaux, presented the two budgets to the council and mayor.
During the CPA’s address she explained that the revenues for the year ending June 30, 2018, would need to be amended to $11,170,273.00. According to a story published in the Ville Platte Gazette on June 15, 2017 regarding the budget for the fiscal year set to end this month, the original revenues budgeted totaled $16,008,000.
Originally the city had budgeted to spend $15,792,000.00 this year, however that amount, according to Quebedeaux, will need to be amended to reflect expenditures that totaled $13,443,445.00 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018.
During the meeting, Quebedeaux also shared that while it may look like the city spent $2,000,000.00 more than its revenues, it did also receive $314,894.00 in revenues for inception of capital lease and $906,367 in revenues for capital contributions.
Quebedeaux also explained that the other million dollars the city spent over its revenues was due to the fact that it paid off a $1,087,465.00 bond, which according to Quebedeaux, is why the city is having to amend its budget for the fiscal year set to end on June 30, 2018. Mayor Jennifer Vidrine then said that by paying this bond off, they “saved the city $447,000.00 in future interest.”
As it relates to the budget for the upcoming fiscal year set to begin on July 1, 2018, Quebedeaux shared that the city is proposing that it will have a revenue of $17,154,015.00, while its proposed expenditures are $17,720,043.00.
Approximately $4.7 million of the proposed revenue, Quebedeaux said is based on whether the city will receive grants to fund what the CPA called the “mayor’s wish list.”
The items on the list, which consists of fire trucks, sidewalk repairs or maintenance, street improvements and street cameras, will only be purchased if grants are received.
Quebedeaux said, “money for these things would not be paid for out of pocket by the city.”
Anyone wishing to view a copy of the proposed amended budget and the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year may do so by visiting city hall where a copy has been available for the public.