VP City Council approves budget

By: NICK JAGNEAUX
Staff Reporter

The Ville Platte City Council approved a final amended budget for the current fiscal year and adopted a new operating budget for Fiscal Year 2015-2016 during a special meeting Friday morning.
The final amended budget showed a surplus of more than $337,000. This was due to a reduction in spending on street projects and city park improvements.
Despite several new capital outlay projects, the new budget for next year also projects a substantial surplus, more than $4.5 million.
In 2015-16, the City expects to receive $18,363,110 in revenue, a whopping 44.5 percent increase from this current year.
The vast majority of the increase, however, comes from anticipated grants to fund a housing construction project in the Woods section of the city. That project has not yet received approval from the grant sources, and it was not included in any of the anticipated expenditures.
Not only does the budget show an increase in revenue, but it also reflects 17 percent increase in expenditures. The City estimates it will spend nearly $13,800,000 next year.
The City is proposing 22 new capital outlay projects for the 2015-16 fiscal year, worth more than $1.8 million. The largest projected expenditure is the construction of pavilions at both Northside and Hargrove public parks. The City also plans to build a sidewalk from James Stephens Montessori School to Ville Platte High School.
Several of the projects are expected to be funded through federal, state, and other grants.
Dana Quebedeaux, a certified public accountant in the firm of John S. Dowling and Company, prepared and presented the budget to the Council. She told the Council that even if the housing construction grant money does not come through, the City will still end the year with a surplus of $812,791.
“This budget looks good,” Quebedeaux commented. “It looks very good.”
In other business, the City approved a resolution providing for the Louisiana Municipal Natural Gas Purchasing and Distribution Authority to open an account with FC Stone for the purchase of natural gas options. It also approved a pricing plan agreement in conjunction with the resolution.
The City is a member of the Louisiana Municipal Association. Part of that Association includes the Louisiana Municipal Gas Association. The LMGA, through Blackbelt Energy, purchases natural gas on behalf of its member municipalities.
Because Blackbelt Energy purchases the natural gas in bulk, it is able to obtain significant price reductions, Mayor Jennifer Vidrine said. These price reductions are passed on the member municipalities.
“This helps us to save beaucoup money on natural gas,” Vidrine said.