Patterson council finds money to fix budget hole, hears sewer complaint

PATTERSON — The City Council on Tuesday took a step toward patching a hole in the 2023-24 budget. And a Mill Road resident asked the council to fix a sewer system defect that makes his life miserable every time it rains.
Chief Financial Officer Reginald Weary asked for and obtained council approval for permission to transfer up to $1 million in funds, although he hopes not all that money will be needed.
At its Jan. 2 meeting, the council learned about a potential $367,000 shortfall in the budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30. The original 2023-24 budget projected a surplus of $489,000.
Engineering expenses accounted for the biggest single piece of the unexpected expenses, about $355,000. About $200,000 of that total is related to the city’s new water plant, which is designed to operate with fewer chemicals than a conventional plant.
But the current plant lacks storage, which means it must run more often, costing more for labor and chemicals. An upgrade being designed now includes water storage.
The labor demands contributed to a $60,000 overtime bill for all city departments through the first six months of the budget year.
The money to which Weary asked for access Tuesday includes two certificates of deposit representing money left over in a fund that had been used to repay bonds. One of the CDs matures next week, and the other in April.
Weary also suggested tapping into a utility contingency fund.
Weary said that since last month, overtime has been reduced, and Police Chief Garrett Grogan said the department is cutting down on other expenses, too.
Weary said after the meeting that he’s hoping to avoid one of the suggested cost-cutting measures, a citywide reduction in the work week to 36 hours. Administrative employees at City Hall already work a 36-hour week.
Patterson is not alone among cities in having budget problems, Mayor Rodney Grogan said.
“There’s no frivolous spending, for inquiring minds,” Grogan said.
The resident with the sewer system nightmare is Howard Parker. His home is on Mill Road, which runs east from La. 182 near the Patterson Bridge.
With a polite demeanor barely covering his frustration, Parker said the taps and toilets in his home become unusable when rain falls. His family is forced to use the backyard as a substitute for the bathroom — in the rain, he noted.
When rain is in the weather forecast, the Parkers hurry to do the laundry and fill the bathtubs with water for use when the tap stops working.
Parker believes the problem is infiltration into the sewer system, which affects a handful of other homes in the Mill Road-McGee Road area and which sends sewage into nearby Bayou Teche.
He said he’s called the city repeatedly for help and appeared before the council as recently as three years ago, all without a remedy.
“What do I got to do to get some help around here?” Parker said.
Councilwoman Mamie Perry said this council, which took office only a year ago, hadn’t heard about the problem until Saturday. That was the end of a week of rain.
“It’s not like we don’t care …,” Perry said. “We don’t want you to feel that way.”
The mayor suggested that Parker should talk with consulting engineer Charles Franklin of Providence Engineering after the meeting.
They huddled briefly, and Parker came away with assurances that he’d get what he’d been asking for, a smoke test of infiltration points in the sewer line.
Also Tuesday:
—Pat Gordon of the South Central Regional Planning and Development Commission staff, which recently developed a new zoning map for Patterson, suggested a fix for what he called a typo.
Gordon asked the council to change the side-yard setback requirement in a residential zone to 5 feet from 10 feet.
City Attorney Russel Cremaldi said the change will have to be made through an ordinance. Under the normal procedure, the ordinance could be available for passage as early as the April 2 council meeting.
—The council approved a can shake for the Patterson High School Band Boosters on Feb. 24 on Catherine Street.