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 full‑time positions or individual pay increases for the 2026 budget; vacancies will be reviewed case‑by‑case by administration before refilling. "It was not a freeze," Annie said of the restriction, describing it as a "soft stance" under which positions deemed essential (for example, a water operator) would be allowed to be refilled. Overtime was to be budgeted at 2025 levels or less unless justification is provided. Office uniforms were excluded from 2026 budgets, while field uniforms remain budgetable.

Capital and projects Departments were told to request only necessary new or replacement equipment, to evaluate useful life and consider repair before replacement, and to complete a five‑year capital plan (2026–2030) even if no 2026 projects are requested. Finance emphasized requirement of project backup: storage location, responsible party, whether the purchase replaces an existing asset and projected ongoing maintenance costs.

Fund balance, reserves and legal constraints Annie reviewed fund‑balance categories (nonspendable, restricted, committed, assigned and unassigned) and said unassigned fund balance provides working capital and cash flow. She cited the Government Finance Officers Association guidance that the minimum unassigned general fund reserve should equal roughly two months of operating revenues, with an expectation to restore any deficiency within one to three years. Finance said the parish maintains one year of ad valorem cash to manage timing of property tax receipts and three months of operating reserves for sales tax receipts.

Cost allocation and internal charges The department described a cost allocation plan used since 2016 to allocate administrative costs and better price internal services. Finance said it works with a consultant to prepare and validate cost allocation runs; this year the team had rerun allocations multiple times while refining assumptions.

Investments and interest revenue Finance reported roughly $245 million in consolidated investments as of July 31, invested in government‑backed securities and CDs with maturities kept under five years. For fiscal 2024 the parish earned about $13 million in investment interest (approximate average yield 3%); year‑to‑date 2025 interest totaled about $7.7 million.

State‑mandated criminal justice costs Committee members pressed staff on state‑mandated costs for the district attorney, judges and the justice center. Annie said administration has proposed reducing parish funding for those entities in 2026: "What we're estimating to fund them for 2026 in the budget is approximately 70% of what we funded them for 2025." Committee members discussed prior attempts to secure state help and the difficulty of persuading the state delegation to assume more cost share.

Munis access and procurement efficiency Council members requested read‑only Munis access for council and finance committee members; Annie said the system can provide that access and IT will evaluate. Members also encouraged procurement consolidation (for example, copiers) to gain economies of scale; finance said copier procurement is currently done at the department level and agreed to explore parishwide procurement with procurement staff.

Immediate next steps and timelines Finance said the formal proposed budget will be presented to the council on Oct. 2 with additional hearings during October; after adoption, the parish will post the budget in Munis and departments can begin 2026 spending within appropriations. Finance also scheduled the cost allocation consultant to present to the finance committee in an upcoming meeting.

Ending The administration framed 2026 as a constrained budget year with tighter personnel and capital controls, closer review of vacancies, and an emphasis on maintaining reserves to protect cash flow and credit ratings. The council signaled interest in greater Munis transparency, consolidation of common purchases and continued scrutiny of state‑mandated costs.