Plaquemines Parish lowers oil-price assumption, council trims revenue estimate and approves budget fixes

Plaquemines Parish councilors on [date of hearing] voted to set the parish—udget ssumption for oil at $70 per barrel, a move officials said would shrink projected oil-and-gas receipts by about $1.2 million for 2025.

The change followed a briefing from Scott Elston, who said market forecasts including the U.S. Energy Information Administration pointed to a lower price for 2025 than the parish had used when the budget was proposed. "The oil price today is at $67.20 as of this morning," Elston told the council, noting the state and private forecasters were clustering in the low-$70 range. He told the council that moving the assumption from $80 to roughly $71would reduce parish revenues by roughly $1 million.

Why it matters: Plaquemines relies on royalties and state-shared oil revenue for a significant share of its general fund. Council members argued for a conservative approach to avoid midyear shortfalls; the amendment to set the $70 assumption passed on a roll-call vote.

The oil change was one of several moves the council took during lengthy budget hearings. Members restored operating funds and positions for emergency services after discovering the EMS department id not have a 2025 operating line in the initial proposal. The council funded an EMS manager position that administration said met civil-service qualifications and had been on duty in 2024; the funding vote passed unanimously after discussion about staffing and certification.

Other notable items: the council returned $1.395 million for the Port Sulphur water-treatment project to the general fund after attorneys nd several councilors questioned using the firefighting sales-tax proceeds for water-works projects. Administration and multiple council members raised concerns about legal limits on the use of voter-authorized fire taxes; the transfer back to the general fund passed 8to—.

The hearing also included votes to maintain or increase funding for community partners: a $200,000 appropriation for the YMCA and a $200,000 allocation for the Plaquemines Care Center passed unanimously; smaller allocations for the LSU AgCenter and the Council on Aging were also approved. Councilors said these investments support summer programming, pools and mental-health services in lower-income parts of the parish.

On personnel and administrative priorities, the council approved (by majority) a new director-level "director of projects" position to coordinate FEMA and capital work under the director of public service, after debating whether to place the role inside engineering or under public service. Council members were divided over creating new unclassified positions while some operating lines were tight.

Budget balances and reserves: To balance 2025 without raising new taxes the council approved a one-time movement of reserves: $1 million was moved from the surplus fund and $3 million from emergency reserves into unreserved/designated funds to finish the package of amendments. Members discussed the trade-offs of drawing on reserves versus cutting services; several councilors urged conservatism to preserve cushion for future storms or revenue declines.

Whathappens next: Administration said it would return with required implementing language and any legal analyses needed for reallocations that affect voter-authorized funds. Several items the council deferred including some coastal/levee staffing questions were marked for follow-up when the coastal program manager or legal staff can provide further detail.

The council closed the budget hearing after adopting the amendment package and scheduled the formal ordinance votes required by law to conclude the budget process.