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COAST reports growth in meals and rides, cites staffing and funding limits
Summary
COAST executives told St. Tammany Parish councilors the senior services nonprofit served more meals and provided more rides in fiscal 2025, described its current benefits and fund balances, and said transportation demand is outstripping current capacity.
Amy Coudell, executive director of COAST (the Council on Aging of St. Tammany), told the St. Tammany Parish Council that COAST served nearly 160,000 meals and provided about 48,900 rides in fiscal year 2025, increases from the prior year. “We served nearly a 160,000 meals in fiscal year 2025,” Coudell said.
Coudell said COAST has 75 total employees — 56 full time, 16 part time and three substitutes — and eight exempt (director-level) positions. She told councilors the agency offers health insurance with the parish subsidy: “Coast pays $775 per employee towards whatever plan they choose,” and employee premium contributions range from $38 to $181 per pay period; 34 of 61 eligible employees are enrolled. She said COAST also provides dental, vision and life insurance at no cost to enrolled employees and a 3% retirement match.
The presentation outlined several revenue lines and fund balances. Coudell said COAST budgeted $2,400,000 from the Saint Tammany Parish millage for the coming fiscal year and expects $1,980,000 in Title III (Older Americans Act) discretionary funding from the Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs, subject to federal appropriations. COAST’s Star Transit urban operations contract was listed at $1,900,000 and a transit-related contract at $300,000, both expiring next year. She said the organization’s general fund balance grew to about $1,700,000 in 2025 and that nonspendable fund balance -- which includes buildings and fixed assets -- rose to about $6,300,000 after capital spending and FTA-funded vehicle purchases.
Council members pressed COAST about rising demand for transportation and meals and about driver shortages. Coudell said demand is driven by the parish’s age profile and medical-transport needs: “We have a lot of need for dialysis transportation… If we had unlimited funding, we would hire several more drivers and have several more vehicles.” She and councilors discussed pay and recruitment; COAST said it currently has an opening for a chauffeur driver and that operational limits include vehicle access in rural areas where smaller vans are needed.
Coudell said COAST discontinued a sitter/companionship program in April 2024 as a cost-saving step but still provides personal care and respite through volunteer partnerships (Volunteers of America) and other programs. She described travel expense entries as staff training, conferences and mileage reimbursements; some travel costs were tied to a grant from the Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs to reach homebound clients for COVID education.
Councilors asked COAST to supply a staffing-cost “rough order of magnitude” and a target pay rate that would reduce driver vacancies. Coudell said COAST would provide requested breakdowns and supporting graphics to Parish staff for distribution to council members.
COAST also described administrative consolidations and reduced budgeted staff positions (from 86 to 75) as cost-saving measures meant to preserve essential services for older adults in Saint Tammany Parish.
Ending: COAST provided the council with its organizational chart and said it would send requested follow-up materials to Parish staff. The council thanked COAST staff for the presentation and invited the agency to submit the detailed cost information requested by members.
