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Andrew Granger of the LSU Ag Center talks to the Police Jury about a new building for the Ag Center.

Vermilion Parish Police Jury has budget concerns for 2015

The Vermilion Parish Police Jury learned it did not have enough money to fund the 2015 budget requests from other government agencies that the police jury supports.
If the Police Jury could fund all the 2015 budget requests made by departments such as the tax assessor’s office, clerk of court’s office, the district attorney’s office, the parish jail, rabies control department and solid waste department, the Police Jury would be $2.5 million in the hole at the end of 2015.
Those requests range from giving staff members at the district attorney’s office a 4 percent raise, along with increasing the salaries of the 15th Judicial District judges’ secretaries from $34,900 to $40,000 a year, to purchasing 12 new courtroom chairs at a cost of $300 a chair for a total of $3,600.
The finance committee tabled all raises and is expected to talk more about the budget, especially raises, at a special meeting Thursday night in the police jury room.
With a shortfall on the horizon, there was a debate about if the Police Jury could afford to put up $1 million to help build a new 5,800 square foot LSU Ag Building next to the old one in Abbeville.
The Police Jury budgeted $375,000 in 2015 to help build the $1.3 million building. The Police Jury is planning to apply for state funds in 2015 to help pay for the cost of the construction of the LSU Ag building.
Police Juror Errol Domingues, a farmer from Erath, said he did not want to wait for possible state funds to help build the LSU Ag building, knowing it would be a long shot to get the state funds.
Domingues suggested dipping into the Police Jury’s 1978 Sales Tax that has an extra $10 million. The 1978 Sales Tax is used to fund all of the police jury’s government entities it supports as the clerk of court, courthouse, tax assessor’s office and parish jail to name a few.
When there is a surplus of funds in the 1978 sales tax fund, the Police Jury uses some of the money to take care of the 1,100 miles of roads or the 300 bridges in the parish.
Not all of the jurors want to dip into the Police Jury’s 1978 Sales Tax reserve.
Juror Wayne Touchet said to wait to see if the state could help fund the construction of the building before dipping into the 1978 sales tax fund.
Juror Ron Darby wanted to know what is the hurry to build a 4-H building. “We have roads, bridges and our employees with needs,” said Darby. “I love the 4-H program, but why is it so important now to build a building? I don’t like to be in a pressure situation.”

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