St. Tammany finance department rolls out zero‑based 2026 budget plan with hiring review and fund‑balance focus

Annie, a finance department presenter, told the St. Tammany Parish council finance committee that the administration is preparing a zero‑based 2026 budget and has instructed parish departments to start requests from scratch, omit nonessential line items and provide detailed justification for all asks. "We're going to do a 0 based budget," she said. "We want you to start from scratch and tell us what you need."

The change is part of a broader presentation in which finance staff explained the timeline and technical steps of budget development, how the parish uses Munis for budget entry and payroll, and what supporting documentation departments must supply for capital assets and personnel requests. Annie said the "entire operating budget is [in] Munis" but that departments must submit supplemental forms for asset age, vehicle mileage and position justification because those fields are not readily captured in Munis.

Why it matters: Finance said the parish must tighten spending to preserve fund balance and to meet state‑mandated costs for criminal justice functions. The department warned that some funds, including the general fund, will be pressed in 2026 and noted that available reserves were being earmarked to cover mandated costs.

Major instructions and limits Finance told departments not to submit new…