New Orleans Museum of Art (New Orleans)
March 16, 2010Frederic Adams
March 18, 2010The South Lafourche Levee District is proposing a $29 million budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The proposal calls for $8 million to be provided by state funds, with the remaining $21 comprised of local funding and various grants and funding sources. Levee director Windell Curole proposed the budget last week at the district’s regular monthly meeting.
The proposed budget will next be sent to the state for final approval.
Locally, the levee district derives approximately $4.5 million of its annual funding from sales taxes and another $3 million annually from the collection of property taxes.
The bulk of the funding in the budget is applied either toward construction of new levees or the improvement of existing ones.
“Of the approximately $7.5 million a year the district collects in local funding, more than $5 million of that figure goes to construction of new levees or improvements on the existing one,” said Curole. “We spend every available dollar we have on improving the system and we would not be able to do it without the help of the people through these funds.” The district spends approximately $2.4 million a year on operation costs, which include employee salaries, equipment maintenance, engineering and design.
Curole also noted that some of the monies in the operations category also go toward construction and levee improvements. “We always spend every bit we can on improvements,” he said noting that some of the grant funds the district receives must be spent on specific projects.
Currently, the district has a number of ongoing improvement projects including raising numerous sections of levee on both sides of Bayou Lafourche.
The levee district was also recently awarded a $20 million check by the state from the budget surplus of last year. According to Curole, this funding will be used to raise the sections of levee on the west side of Bayou Lafourche from Cut Off south to the Leon Theriot lock below Golden Meadow.
This work is schedule for completion by August 2011.
