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Drainage and levy projects dominate St. Charles Parish budget debate; council approves targeted transfers
Summary
Councilors and public-works staff spent much of the Oct. 28 hearing reviewing multi-year drainage projects, the parish assumption of Cross Bayou pump station upgrades and GOMESA/CDBG funding; council approved transfers to address cross-canal cleaning and local drainage shortfalls.
Drainage and flood-protection investments were front and center during St. Charles Parish’s Oct. 28 budget hearing. Public-works leaders outlined a mix of grant-funded and locally funded projects — noting that some work is already underway while other pieces are dependent on permits or multi-year funding.
Public Works staff described several large items in the capital program: engineering and construction line items supporting major canal work and pump-station upgrades; GOMESA funds pooled into a capital account for planned projects; and CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) line items for drainage work that will be expended across multiple years. Staff said the Norco engineer’s canal pump-station project has budgeted construction and engineering amounts across 2025 and 2026; the total project contract is in the roughly $10.5 million range with grants and GO MESA dollars contributing to the total program funding. For the Norco pump-station work specifically, staff said the total program funding spans prior-year appropriations and 2026 allocations such that the full contract costs are covered when multi-year amounts are combined.
Grants administration explained the CDBG account narrative needed a title correction to reflect both the New Sarpy pump station and an associated culvert crossing; the council amended the narrative accordingly and approved that amendment by voice vote. Public Works also detailed a $1,000,000 canal maintenance line item that can be used to hire contractors for major canal clearings when in-house crews are insufficient and explained a multi-phase canal-bank stabilization program that is not yet fully funded.
Councilors pressed staff for specifics on the Westbank bike-path phases, River Park ditch work, acquisition of servitudes and the schedule for the Kinghorn/Hahn Street drainage project. Staff said River Park work will likely proceed in 2026 as staff continue attempting to secure a servitude from a property owner, and that King/Hahn Street remains in project funding with a revised design that may reduce total costs.
During the hearing, Councilman Pilar offered a detailed transfer amendment moving a series of small line-item balances (totaling approximately $30,475) into account 112420260 to fund cross-canal cleaning and Ormond Lake work; the motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Grants staff reiterated that if grant-funded projects do not expend budgeted amounts in 2025, the remaining dollars will roll forward into 2026 and remain available for the approved drainage projects.
What’s next: Implementation of approved transfers and continued interagency work on permit-dependent levy projects; Public Works and Grants will report back to the council as projects progress and as reimbursements and rollovers are finalized.
