Natchitoches council introduces $104 million fiscal 2025-26 budget for consideration

The Natchitoches City Council on March 24 introduced Ordinance No. 9 of 2025, the city's proposed budget for the fiscal year June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026. The draft lists a general fund of $22,154,234, a utility (proprietary) fund of $37,789,685 and special and capital project funds of $44,346,557; council members and staff described the combined total as about $104 million.

Why it matters: the budget sets pay raises, utility rates and capital work for the coming year and must be adopted after the required introduction and review period. City officials said the proposal reflects several one-time capital projects and ongoing operating costs that will affect services and ratepayers.

Finance director Clarissa Brown Smith, who worked with the mayor's office on the document, said major drivers include routine cost-of-living and merit adjustments for employees and higher project costs tied to multiple capital efforts. She told the council the utility fund is lower than last year partly because recent drops in electricity costs and the change from Cleco to LEPA affected projections. "We also were taking into consideration the change from Cleco to, LEPA," she said. Staff said the special and capital projects category appears larger mainly because it includes the city's water treatment plant work; those costs are budgeted on both revenue and expense lines so the budget remains balanced.

Council discussion noted an approximately $40,000 favorable variance between the designer's estimate and a recent bid for a water-line phase, and staff said the budget includes an additional roughly $200,000 in next year's plan targeted at South Williams. Brown Smith also told the council the draft includes an additional budgeting allowance of roughly $1.6 million to reflect recent increases in the city's self-insured health plan.

The ordinance text references statutory authority described in the document as "LRS 30 nine-thirteen oh 5" to specify mayoral authority for intra-departmental transfers and the council's role on transfers between departments. The council received copies of the draft at the March 24 meeting; staff said a final formatted copy will be provided by email before the next meeting. Because the ordinance was introduced March 24, the city may vote on final adoption at a subsequent meeting after the required notice period.

The introduction was procedural; no final adoption vote was taken on March 24. Council members and staff encouraged review and asked colleagues to submit questions to Brown Smith in advance of the next meeting.