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Natchitoches council adopts 2026'27 budget, imposes council approval on certain consulting spending
Summary
The Natchitoches City Council adopted Ordinance 011 on May 26, approving the city's fiscal 2026'27 budget and adding an amendment requiring council approval before economic development consulting funds are spent.
The Natchitoches City Council voted May 26 to adopt Ordinance 011, the city's budget for the fiscal year beginning June 1, 2026, and approved an amendment that requires the council to approve any use of the economic development consulting fund before consultants are hired or funds are spent.
Councilmember Harrington moved to adopt Ordinance 011 with the condition; the motion was seconded and adopted. "I'll make a motion to adopt Ordinance 11 of 2026 with an amendment that any use of the budget economic development consulting fund requires prior approval by the city council before any consultant is hired or any funds are spent," Harrington said. The motion was seconded and carried by roll call (Eli, Nelson, Smith Kirkendall and Harrington recorded yes votes).
Finance Director Clarissa Brown Smith explained the ordinance text and routine budget adjustments. "Each year, we have to go back and make sure that we are in the 5% compliance," she said, describing adjustments made for higher electricity costs and grant timing that affect revenue and expense lines. The ordinance text named Clarissa Brown Smith as the finance director who prepared the budget.
During debate the mayor and council discussed elements of the Natchitoches Next master plan: the city has a $2,000,000 earmark intended mainly for residential development and for extending Rudy Gabriel Road to improve access to potential sites. Council members said utilities and site preparation remain a major cost and that the city will seek state planning dollars now, with construction funding to follow in future requests.
The ordinance was read into the record and adopted on a roll-call vote. The council noted that the amendment places an added approval step on expenditures from the specifically appropriated economic development consulting fund; it does not change other budget authorities. The budget ordinance takes effect as provided in the ordinance text.
The council did not provide a complete line-by-line budget breakdown during the discussion; the ordinance text filed with the council includes fund-level figures.
