The Oberlin Council had an evening of discussing budget spending, water/sewage usage at the jail and updating water lines.
Allen Parish Sheriff Doug Hebert III spoke to the council about the water/sewage rate at Jail #1. At the last meeting the council discussed how much revenue it was losing from Jail #1 due to a contract between a former town council and the sheriff. Councilman Romelzy Willis Jr. wanted to void the contract, but other councilmen believed they should speak with the sheriff first.
Sheriff Hebert explained in 2012 when he took office he knew the parish needed a new jail. He looked at several sites including one near the Allen Parish Correctional Center where he could have tied into the system present at that facility. Representatives of Oberlin approached him to discuss keeping the jail in the parish seat. The sheriff said he had 38 acres there and purchased the remaining five in Oberlin to build a new jail facility. The sewer lift stations were inadequate at the time, so he utilized his money to bring the lift stations up-to-date for the jail. As a result, the Oberlin Council agreed to lock his rates for water/sewage for seven years at the rate at that time. The rate is locked in until February 23, 2022.
“I like to do what I can do to help, but some things I can’t do legally,” Hebert said. He explained the parish has paid $29,000 in water/sewage usage since July 1, 2019, which averages about $2,000 per month. He also noted he was not happy they wanted to void his contract when he hadn’t done anything to void it.
Hebert pointed out he has answered any call from the Oberlin Police Department at no charge. He has provided dispatch services at no cost. He asked Police Chief Grady K. Haynes how many people would he have to hire to provide full time dispatch to the Oberlin Police Department.
Haynes answered four, and Hebert said that would cost approximately $130,000 with benefits, etc.
“I don’t get anything out of this,” Hebert said as he explained he was being made the bad guy in this situation from all the posts on Facebook™.
Councilmen Bobby Thomas and Willis explained they were looking at expenses and wanted to know where the $117,000 went in this matter. The sheriff asked if they thought he had taken the money. (It was determined $117,365 was paid to the contractor, and $12,885 to the engineer firm to refurbish three lift stations for the jail.)
“No,” they did not think that, but they had found a stub for the $117,365, and a bill that said this included the $12,885 engineer fees. There also appeared to be no paper trail of the $12,885 check which was supposedly written to the town. It was explained the town did request paperwork from its bank for 2015 to try to trace these checks.
Both Sheriff Hebert and Kathryn McDuff, Meyer Meyer LaCroix and Hixson Engineers and Land Surveyors, promised to look through their own paperwork to see how the funds were distributed after the project was completed.
The discussion also centered on whether there was any damage to the lift stations, numbered six, seven or nine, in the past, and if the sheriff was responsible for fixing the issues. Hebert explained if he had done something wrong he would repair it, but they had to prove he was neglectful as outlined in the contract.
Thomas said they needed to look at records to see if any damage existed. “The sewer expense is like a cancer eating at our revenue,” he said.
The sheriff said he didn’t believe he was responsible for any damage but agreed to meet with the members. “It’s in everybody’s best interest. I want y’all to succeed. I just can’t pay for things that are not legally for the sheriff’s office.
Thomas and Willis asked McDuff for a breakdown of expenses on the project. They also wanted to study the records of repairs to any lift stations, and they wanted to see what happened to the monies paid for the construction of the upgrades by the sheriff. The reason they questioned the expenses is because the sheriff spent $117,000 to upgrade the lift stations, and the town recently secured monies totaling $600,000 to upgrade the sewer system in Oberlin.
“So are you satisfied I paid,” Hebert asked Thomas, who answered “yes.”
Willis asked to table the matter until the next meeting so they could get more information and review it.
Hebert said none of this voided the contract with Oberlin, and if they chose to void it, he would seek legal action. He said he couldn’t do anything about it if they failed to notify him, and he had a duty to the rest of the parish. “I just can’t give money away.”
Thomas said he just asked if they could all sit down and look at it. The sheriff agreed, and so did the other council members. Thomas did say some of the questions had been answered during this discussion.
The council approved its budget at Tuesday’s meeting after conducting a hearing before the meeting to amend its 2019-2020 budget and adopt its 2020-21 budget. Revenues for 2020 totaled $1,112,371 while the council expects to take in $1,120,275 by the end of 2021. Expenditures for the 2019-20 budget ended at $1,493,426. At the end of 2020-21, the council expects to spend $1,434,055.
The fund balance was at $4,119,095 at the beginning of 2019-20’s budget year and will end at $3,876,946. The council hopes at the end of 2020-21, the fund balance will be $3,784,666.
Councilman Wayne Smith inquired why the difference existed in debt. The mayor explained depreciation of property. Councilman Thomas added professional fees would decrease because of the end of several capital outlay projects in the town.
When discussing the differences, Thomas said he believes there will be a bigger drop because of repairs being made to water and sewage. He said he expects to see some benefits from these repairs to begin showing in budget spending.
The council added an item to the agenda to add water lines on Mimosa and Mike Manuel roads. Barbara Lee of the Hock Rider Subdivision asked why the council couldn’t bring water to her subdivision. McDuff explained this was excess project funds from USDA she had inquired about to see if Oberlin could utilize them. Hock Rider Subdivision does not meet the town’s requirements to be a subdivision. It was agreed McDuff would also get a quote for the Hock Rider Subdivision and inquire if the funds could be used for a tractor or dump truck to upkeep the area around the new water lines. It will be discuss at the next meeting.
In other business, the council:
•Heard from Aaron Brown, who inquired about putting a fire hydrant near his home. The mayor said they would look at it since they had some extra dollars from the project to upgrade hydrants.
•Approved minutes from the May 19, meeting.
•Approved liquor license for Timeloop Enterprise LLC, which has locations in Lake Charles, Eunice and now Oberlin.
(NOTE: On Tuesday, June 9, Oberlin Mayor Joseph “Moochie” Manuel said Oberlin had found the check of $12,000 plus from the sheriff’s office. The town deposited the check and paid the engineering fees, etc. with the money. City Clerk Charlotte Artis confirmed the check discussed at Monday’s meeting had been located by the bank, deposited and funds forwarded to the appropriate individuals.
