Marksville may be unable to meet payroll in November

City officials looking for ways to raise revenue, cut expenses

 

    Heather Bordelon,   Marksville’s secretary/treasurer, has told Mayor John Lemoine and the City Council there is enough money to meet this month’s payroll, but there may be a shortage next month.
   Marksville city officials are facing a major budget issue, and there seems to be no quick or easy solution. The City Council held a special meeting on Oct. 10 to be alerted to the severity of the problem, discussed the crisis again at the council's regular meeting on Oct. 12, held a special meeting this past Monday (after press time for this article) to consider options to address the issue and has scheduled another special meeting for 5:30 p.m. next Tuesday (Oct. 25).
    “We are running short on money,” Mayor John Lemoine said. 
   Lemoine put a large share of blame on employee pay raises that were approved for this budget year. Another culprit in the city’s budget woes is a drop in sales taxes over the past several months.
   “The last thing we would want to do is lay people off,” Lemoine continued.
   Councilman Frank Havard said the council did what it thought was right in giving pay raises. Employee raises totaled about $200,000.
   “It was probably too much and it’s coming back to bite us now,” Havard said.
   Havard said there are only two ways to address a budget shortfall -- reduce costs or raise revenues.
   Councilman Clyde “Danny” Benson had one more suspect to add to the line-up.
  “We have to hold our department supervisors’ feet to the fire when it comes to this budget,” Benson said. “If the budget says they are allowed $5,000 a month, they can’t spend $7,000. It’s simple as that.”
   Benson rattled off numbers from last year totaling almost $250,000 in budget overruns.
  He suggested the Water and Sewer Departments should be able to repay the General Fund for their excess costs covered out of the General Fund. He was told that is an accounting question and would require additional research to see if it can be done.
  He then asked if the Fire Department can use some of the District 2 funds it receives to pay for some of the department’s personnel costs. At this time, those District 2 funds are only used for equipment costs. That, too, will be referred to a CPA to determine what those funds can and cannot be used for.
    Lemoine asked if it would be legal to rescind the raises.
   City Attorney Derrick Whittington said the council could not just take a vote and take back the raises once they had been given. He said it might be possible to negotiate with employees to ask that they voluntarily give back the raises in exchange for no lay offs, “but every one of the employees would have to agree to it.”
   Whittington said that even if it were possible, “I am not 100 percent comfortable with the idea.”
   As the special meeting went on, Lemoine became more forceful and frustrated by the apparent lack of viable options available to discuss at the special meeting.
   He said he had hoped the council members would meet, be presented hard facts and be able to formulate some kind of plan to address the problem.
   Bordelon said she would meet with the city’s CPA the next day and have more information for the special meeting this past Monday.
   “When I am told there is the possibility that the city will not be able to meet its payroll, it is urgent,” Lemoine said. “We cannot write a check with no money in the bank. I will not sign that check.”
   The council authorized the city to “start the ball rolling” to increase water and sewer rates by between $1 and $3 per 1,000 gallons of water used.
   Lemoine said that even if the Public Service Commission allows the rate increase, “it won’t happen quickly.”
   City Manager Tommy Garrot said a $1 per 1,000 gallon increase would generate about $10,000 a month that could help cover costs in those departments.
   Whittington said the city may have to consider cutting hours “or telling the part-time employees not to come to work and the full-timers will.”
   Lemoine said what it boils down to is saying that for most employees to have raises, some may have to be laid off -- and he wants to avoid that scenario.
   Benson said the city may have to look at essential and non-essential employees in making its cost-cutting decisions.
   “Somebody has to make the hard call,” the mayor said. “It’s showtime. It’s urgent.”
   Bordelon said she has reviewed the budget and believes there are places to cut expenses.
   The first thing she mentioned was “non-essential employees,” but added there are other areas where some savings can be made.
   “What every department supervisor must ask,” Bordelon said, “is, ‘Do we need this for the department to operate?’”
   If the answer is “No,” the department should delay the purchase or expense until the city is in a stronger financial position, she added.
   The only issue discussed at the regular meeting was $247,000 of uncollected water bills over several years. Lemoine said it was one of the reasons for the budget shortfall.
   “We have to find a solution concerning the past due water bills,” Lemoine said. “I have checked with other towns and many are making the renter and home owner sign when a deposit is collected. If the renter skips and doesn’t pay the bill, then the homeowner will be required to pay the balance.”