Committee forwards proposed 2026 operating budget to full council after line‑item questions
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Summary
After questions about audit funding, Home Rule Charter outreach, polling‑site research and office renovations, the committee voted to refer the proposed 2026 operating budget to the full St. Tammany Parish Council for final action.
The St. Tammany Parish Finance Committee voted to send the proposed 2026 operating budget to the full council after members raised questions about a sharp increase in professional services and several contingency items.
Councilman Phillips pressed staff for specifics on year‑to‑year changes and said he had not had time to review emailed answers before the meeting. "I didn't have time to really read through all this," he said, asking staff to explain large line‑item changes.
Mowery, a council budget staff member, said a primary driver of the jump was the council office taking on the audit expense previously paid by the finance department. "That was done, prior in the finance department," she said, and the shift accounts for about $73,000 of the increase. Mowery also told the committee that the 2025 budget included roughly $30,000 set aside for the Home Rule Charter committee that was not spent and that the proposed 2026 budget includes $40,000 for public education about charter amendments. She recommended removing a $50,000 placeholder for outside legal services now that the council has hired Justin Stevens in the civil division.
The discussion also covered planned council office renovations intended to improve privacy and create two small offices and a vestibule to provide a satellite workspace for the civil division attorney. Mowery said the work is meant to address noise and confidentiality concerns in the current conference room layout.
Members asked about other line items: $20,000 was identified to add an online application function for board and commission appointments; $20,000 was proposed to evaluate polling sites after reports of inadequate heat and parking; and staff explained the travel and training estimates (about $650 per attendee, including lodging and registration) used in the proposal.
A citizen who reviewed parish financial statements urged the committee to revisit the minimum fund balance policy. Annie, the parish director of finance, explained the cash timing behind reserve policies, saying ad valorem tax receipts used to fund operating expenditures typically do not arrive until January and February. "The revenue for, 2025... we will not see until January 2026," she said, and added that sales‑tax funds have a shorter collection lag and therefore smaller reserve needs.
After the discussion and public comment, the committee voted to refer the operating budget (ordinance calendar item 79‑63) to the full council for final consideration. Motion to refer: Councilman Phillips; second: Miss Tanner. Voice vote: ayes carried.
