Lafayette Council Approves Budget, Makes Drainage A Priority

What are the two topics most people Lafayette complain about? If you guessed traffic and drainage you'd be right in line with what I was thinking too. Roadways and waterways were on the minds of members of the Lafayette City-Parish Council last night as the 2020 Fiscal Year budget came up for approval.

Drainage has always been a hot topic here in the Hub City. Those concerns were really highlighted during the Flood of 2016 and perhaps some of those concerns will be addressed by what the council has chosen to do with budgeting for the upcoming year.

The City-Parish Council approved $5 million for dredging the Vermilion River. Exactly how and when that dredging will take place will likely come at a later date pending the results of a study that is scheduled to be released in December.

The Council also voted to delay some rather high profile road projects in exchange for more drainage dollars. The South City Parkway Extension and the Robley Extension projects have now been put on hold. Money budgeted for those projects will be shifted toward drainage initiatives in the city and parish.

The Council did opt to keep funding in place for the Louisiana Avenue project. Mayor-President Robideaux reportedly voiced concerns about spending city dollars on a project that is outside the city but the Council felt the project was worth the money.

One other Council related piece of business had to do with salaries for Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Deputies. Sheriff Mark Garber had requested $1.7 million for salaries of deputies who work at the Lafayette Parish Jail. The Council denied that request.