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Maintenance warns of longer response times, shifts to in‑house mowing and tech solutions
Summary
Reginald Brumfield said the maintenance department will reduce about 32 funded positions via vacancies/frozen slots and move some contracted mowing in‑house, prioritizing critical corridors and investing in GPS fleet tracking and supervisor training to mitigate service slowdowns.
Reginald Brumfield, presenting the Maintenance department budget, told council the department faces a roughly $2.5 million reduction and plans to eliminate 32 funded positions through a mix of previously frozen positions and current vacancies, avoiding layoffs. Seasonal employees will be reduced from about 60 to 40, and several contractor routes will be transitioned to in‑house mowing to capture savings.
Brumfield said the reductions will change operations: pothole crews will drop from three to two, asphalt patch crews from two to one, concrete crews from three to two, and there will be fewer ditch and litter crews. Non‑emergency work will be scheduled in windows and lower‑priority corridors can expect longer mowing cycles and more seasonal complaints. The department plans to prioritize flood‑risk corridors, EMS routes and schools.
Mitigations include adopting autonomous mowing equipment, converting some contracts where feasible, increased stockpiling of emergency materials (sandbags, dry goods), supervisor training with LSU Leadership School, and a new work‑order system intended to improve scheduling and routing.
Brumfield told council the department will also increase reporting of ordinance violations so property owners can be charged rather than the parish repeatedly performing courtesy mowing. He said savings linked to the transition of acreage to the City of Saint George (several hundred acres removed from parish inventory) offset some contractual costs.
Council members asked about revenue opportunities and whether the department can recoup costs by billing property owners for services; Brumfield said increased enforcement and billing where property owners are responsible would be part of recoupment strategies.
