GEOFF DAILY: Why Lafayette can’t afford two superparks
Lafayette can build them. But where is the money to operate and maintain them?
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Currency
A series exploring the highs and lows of Lafayette’s economy, providing critical commentary about what’s working and what’s not.
GEOFF DAILY: Lafayette’s enthusiasm gap
A majority of city residents feel like Lafayette is heading in the wrong direction. But non-city residents think we’re on the right track.
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Analysis: Lafayette’s economy lost nearly a billion dollars in 2020
After crashing from 2014-2016, Lafayette Parish’s GDP had shown signs of recovery. Then 2020 happened, blowing a billion dollar hole in Lafayette’s economy.
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GEOFF DAILY: Lafayette mayor-presidents have long used vetoes to appropriate money. That may be illegal.
Legislative bodies appropriate money, not the executive branch. But that’s exactly what’s been happening at LCG for more than a decade in conflict with a pair of attorney general opinions.
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ANALYSIS: Disasters are giving Lafayette’s economy a sugar high
An influx of spending related to hurricane recovery and federal coronavirus stimulus is masking a still struggling economy.
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Lafayette City Council faces another bright red line on ARPA veto vote
With a set of vetoes, the mayor-president has boxed the City Council in again, setting the stage to spend city money without their approval.
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OPINION: Uncertainty is at an all-time high. Lafayette needs a fiscally responsible budget.
The roles have reversed from the 2020 budget cycle, and now the City Council ought to play budget hawk.
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OPINION: Guillory’s proposed ARPA budget is a bad deal for the parish
Too many of the proposed projects deliver questionable returns, create unfunded maintenance liabilities, and inexplicably use parish dollars to pay for city responsibilities.
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OPINION: Fueled by debt, Guillory’s budget proposes largest capital spending spree in city’s history
Mayor-President Guillory wants the City Council to approve a $406 million five year capital improvement program that would saddle the city with $180 million in new debt. Yet he hasn’t revealed plans, garnered public input, or addressed long-term maintenance liabilities for most of these projects. The City Council should tread carefully.
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OPINION: Guillory’s first proposed budget was too bearish, his second is too bullish
Projecting historically big increases in sales tax revenue, he is championing a quarter billion dollar increase in the city’s five-year capital outlay plan, including $132 million of new debt.
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OPINION: Lafayette’s councils should reject Guillory’s proposed Rescue Plan budget and start over
The lack of engagement might be forgivable if the proposal was amazing, but it’s not. We need to start over from scratch.
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OPINION: The City and Parish councils need marriage counseling
The marriage that is consolidated government is crumbling before our eyes, with both the City and Parish Councils failing to follow the fundamentals of healthy relationships. Something’s got to change.
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