St. Bernard residents and businesses could be hit with a big hike in their water and sewer fees.
Parish leaders say it's part of an effort to offset lower than anticipated sales tax revenue. In addition to that, more layoffs could also be on the way.
Parish President Dave Peralta says the parish must consider new ways of generating revenue, and ultimately some tough decisions have to be made.
"We have to make some adjustments, we knew coming in. The budget that we were left with, the previous administration, the previous council... there were going to be some problems. We didn't know they were going to be as bad as they are," said Peralta. "They're really projected to be about an $8 million shortage into next year."
The St. Bernard Parish Council introduced a new ordinance that would add $27.51 in fees on monthly water and sewer bills. That increase could take effect as early as Sept. 1 if approved.
"So, we're working with the council, as a team. We need to make some decisions on where do we go from here. Do we impose fees, do we lay off people, do we do a combination thereof?" said Peralta.
"We have a lot of residents who are struggling to make ends meet, and any type of increase would be an even further burden," said St. Bernard resident Stacy Riley.
"$30 is not going to make a difference on whether I eat tomorrow or not, so like anybody else -- nobody is in favor of increasing taxes. But at the same time, you still need your government running, and you still need your services in place," said St. Bernard resident Jimmy Licciardi.
The ordinance, as proposed by the parish administration, also calls for 92 employee layoffs. Parish council members say it's needed to offset low sales tax projections.
"I don't think we can avoid additional layoffs. I don't think the community is going to allow us to put that much fees on the bill. We have a huge problem in our budget going forward to next year," said Councilman-at-Large Guy McInnis.
McInnis calls the revenue loss from the lower sales tax collections a $10 million problem for the parish. "This year, we have about $2 million that we have to correct before the end of the year," said McInnis. That money is in addition to the $8 million shortage into 2013.
McInnis says the parish has lost about 60 parish employees so far this year.
Peralta blames mismanagement by former parish President Craig Taffaro's administration for recent layoffs. He says their sales tax projections were wrong.
"I don't want to lay off any more people, period. My desire is not to lay off, and to do budget cuts, to streamline, to get grants, to do anything that we can do to avoid layoffs," said Peralta.
Layoffs, Peralta says, also mean diminished services to the community.
St. Bernard council members plan to work on the ordinance for the next couple of weeks. The final document will be up for adoption on Aug. 21. A town hall meeting on the proposal is scheduled for Aug. 15 at 7:00 p.m. in council chambers.
