The Terrebonne Parish Finance Committee reviewed the proposed 2026 budget on Oct. 13 and discussed department-by-department allocations, targeted staff pay adjustments and an expected infusion of CDBG program income tied to a closing disaster grant.

Finance staff (identified in the record as Miss Candice) presented the general fund summary: proposed 2026 revenues of roughly $23.9 million, proposed expenditures of about $18.2 million, proposed transfers in of approximately $6.0 million, transfers out of about $10.2 million, and a projected ending balance near $5.3 million. Candice described the ending balance as the parish’s preferred fund balance target for contingency and cash-flow needs.

Why it matters: The budget process will determine service levels, staffing and capital work for 2026. Committee members focused on how departments reallocated existing budgets to give raises to selected employees and debated if those increases should be applied across the workforce instead.

Targeted pay increases and debate: Committee members and department directors said some departments used internal savings and eliminated vacant positions to fund modest raises for select employees they judged to be underpaid. Several council members cautioned about optics and asked whether raises should be distributed broadly rather than selected by department. Councilman Clyde Hamner said he disagreed with selectively giving raises and preferred a more universal cost-of-living approach; other members and the chair defended departmental discretion to address recruitment and retention in hard-to-fill roles.

One-time vs. recurring changes: Finance staff said the increases discussed were a one-time adjustment to bring salaries into their assigned pay grades; while affected employees will remain at the new pay rate thereafter, staff characterized the actions as a targeted, budget-constrained approach rather than an ongoing across-the-board annual raise.

CDBG program income and demolition work: Housing director Kelly (identified in the record later in the meeting) told the committee the Office of Community Development is closing out an earlier disaster grant and the parish will receive program income of approximately $8 million. Kelly said those funds would be added to the parish’s CDBG allocation and can be used for demolition, drainage and other CDBG-eligible infrastructure projects (but not for routine maintenance). The Code Enforcement and Planning director told members that he expected to bring a program-income budget amendment in November to begin demolition and condemnation-related work funded by the program income.

Budget amendments and public hearings: The committee introduced and approved multiple ordinance introductions to amend the 2025 adopted operating budget for several departments and items; each introduction carried a public hearing date of Oct. 29, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. Items introduced included requests for funding adjustments for the Council on Aging ($61,000), Section 8 voucher program ($22,043), Keep Louisiana Beautiful ($6,438), emergency preparedness, parish pump station, Home of Police departmental adjustments, and large dedicated emergency fund transfers totaling several million dollars. Committee votes on those introductions were recorded (most 9-0), and the public hearing schedule was set.

Other highlights: The committee approved grant application authorizations for the Sheriff and Homa Police Department to pursue federal and state public-safety grants, authorizations to execute intergovernmental agreements for coastal restoration and grant-managed projects, and routine capital and contract items later in the agenda. Finance and council members requested follow-up detail on two items: (1) a list of beneficiaries for South Louisiana Legal Services funding included at $40,000 in the budget, and (2) a breakdown of the $60,000 discretionary expenditure in the parish president’s budget so council members can review its use.

Provenance: The Finance Committee met Oct. 13 and opened budget review at the Finance Committee session (transcript block starting at 3272.995); the presentation and follow-up discussion continued throughout the meeting and concluded when staff closed the presentation (transcript block starting at 7404.485).