It was all about the budget at the City of Ville Platte’s council meeting on Tuesday night.
However, before discussing the proposed budget for the fiscal year that will end on June 30, 2019, CPA Dana Quebedaeux, with John S. Dowling & Company, enlightened the council on amendments that will need to be made to the budget for the year ending June 30, 2018.
During Quebedeaux’s address to council members and the mayor, 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.
The amount that was originally budgeted to be spent during the fiscal year was $15,792,000. 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.
The total spent by the city for the current fiscal year shows an increase in expenditures from the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2017 of $450,445.
During the meeting Quebedeaux also shared that although it looks like the city had a $2 million dollar shortfall, that is not the case. The CPA out of Opelousas said while looking over the budget, “On page three you see inception of capital lease, which was a revenue of $314,894.00. And, some more capital contributions, which is also revenue of $906,367; and then you have some transfers in and out between funds.”
When these numbers are added into the budget, the city according to Quebedeaux, ended the fiscal year with a loss of $1,051,911.
Quebedeaux attributed the loss to the city’s decision to pay off a bond, which she said will “save the city $447,000.00 in future interest.”
According to Quebedeaux, if the city had not paid off the $1,087,465.00 bond, then it would not have ended the year with a loss.
In reference to the budget for the fiscal year that will 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 the grants are received.
Quebedeaux said, “money for these things would not be paid for out of pocket by the city.”
A public hearing on the amended budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018 and the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018 will be held on June 28, 2018, at 11:45 a.m. at the Ville Platte City Hall. A copy of the budget is now available for the public to view at City Hall.
Immediately following the public hearing, the council will have a special meeting, beginning at 12:00 p.m., to adopt the amended and proposed budgets if there are no changes to be made.
During the meeting, the council named the Ville Platte Gazette the official municipal journal for the City of Ville Platte.
An update from Mayor Jennifer Vidrine on abandoned properties was then shared.
The mayor stated that a total of five abandoned properties have been demolished since the council’s meeting in May.
Vidrine also shared that residents can expect to see nine more abandoned properties demolished and cleaned up this week.
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ELIZABETH WEST Managing Editor