It promises to be a grueling evening at City Hall as the Lafayette Consolidated Council gets down to brass tacks and finalizes City-Parish President Joey Durel’s proposed $587 million budget for the fiscal year that begins Nov. 1.
During a month of hearings over the summer, council members amended the budget numerous times. Each of those amendments will require a separate council vote. Among them is roughly $452,000 in funding for 23 non-governmental agencies, ranging from $72,000 for Festival International to a mere $968 for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The council, which in July voted to maintain funding levels for the NGOs, will revisit the funding tonight and vote up-or-down on each organization. Other amendments up for a vote include $420,000 for a police and fire pay raise and a reduction of LCG’s subsidy for the Cajundome.
Durel is expected to lobby for $400,000 earmarked for eventually jump starting the comprehensive master plan and $275,000 to begin GPS tracking of the LCG’s fleet of vehicles. Durel has threatened to veto several amendments which don’t pass by a 6-3 veto-proof margin.
The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Ted A. Ardoin City-Parish Council Auditorium.