Library rededication won't pay to dredge Vermilion; 5% raise for LCG clears final hurdle

Andrew Capps | The Daily Advertiser

Show Caption Hide Caption Exclusive Drone Video: Palmetto Island State Park Get a birds-eye view of the Vermilion River at Palmetto Island State Park this this drone footage.

Councilwoman Nanette Cook withdrew her plans to use $5 million from Lafayette's library system to pay for dredging the Vermilion River, saying Tuesday the money will come from another source.

Cook made the move in response to opposition from Councilman Kevin Naquin, who argued the library money should go for other projects.

“This money is remaining in the budget,” Cook said Tuesday during a council meeting. “It is still set aside for dredging the Vermilion River if it is a viable option based on the Corp’s analysis.”

The effects of a potential dredging are still under study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is expected to release its findings on what impact dredging the river might have in January.

More: Lafayette council considers 'urgent' Vermilion River dredging to reduce flooding

Related: Vermilion River dredging could cost $50 million, and may not resolve flooding

For now, the money will remain part of the city of Lafayette’s budget and stands to come from the general fund or a recently created stormwater diversion fund. The city-parish council moved $46 million into that stormwater fund, mostly from future city bond sale proceeds, after taking money from plans to extend Robley Drive near Acadiana Mall and Louisiana Avenue around East Bucher Switch Road.

In other business, Councilwoman Liz Hebert provided an update on the city's issues with Republic Services' trash pickup, saying recent leadership changes led to a major reduction in the complaints filed.

"I'm happy to say that we have a brand new leadership team in Lafayette for Republic," Hebert said.

Also Tuesday, the Lafayette Public Utilities Authority gave final approval to a 5% pay increase for Lafayette municipal employees in an unanimous vote. The increase earlier passed the city-council five votes to four.

Lafayette Chief Financial Officer Lorrie Toups offered a new estimate of $900,000 for the cost of the 5% increase.

The increase will add that $900,000 to the city of Lafayette’s general fund deficit, which would grow to about $19 million this year. It will also add about $55,000 to the Lafayette Parish general fund deficit, moving the parish’s fund balance down to an estimated $60,000 for this year, down from $588,000 last year.

Outgoing Councilman Bruce Conque said he was hesitant to support the 5% increase after learning it would apply to appointed directors and not just civil service employees. But he agreed with Boudreaux that the increases for directors could be limited by the salaries offered by incoming Mayor-President Josh Guillory.

"I don’t want this to become about the directors. I want this to remain about the employees," Boudreaux said. "The employees are deserving of this."

More: How can Lafayette pay for its $3.8 million raise for police?

The council also indefinitely deferred Chair Jared Bellard’s proposal to eliminate vacant positions throughout Lafayette government, which Bellard proposed as a way to offset $1 million of the costs of pay increases for police and fire.

That proposal likely won't see a vote before the combined city-parish council disbands after its final meeting on Dec. 17.

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