Columnist Geoff Daily explores Lafayette’s economy and government, providing critical commentary about what’s working and what’s not.
On Monday, the price of oil had its greatest one-day plunge ever, and coronavirus officially arrived in Louisiana. These developments pose threats the Lafayette economy is particularly vulnerable to.
Since launching 2008, LUS Fiber has missed its financial projections by $70 million. That puts it in a vulnerable position.
Lafayette’s roads suck and both our city and parish budgets are in disarray. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do something about this problem. We just need to reprioritize maintaining the infrastructure we already have.
GDP, personal income, employment, retail and real estate sales are all increasing, but without oil and gas recovering our economy is trending towards mediocrity.
Are they TIFs? How much are the taxes? Where are the districts?
Setting aside the philosophical argument about EDDs in general, the way these particular districts are designed is problematic.
The City-Parish Council’s decision to authorize $3.8 million in pay raises for the Lafayette Police Department was unanimous but not without complication. While the move is a victory for police, who said the new money was needed to stop a crisis in officer turnover, the added costs have put a spotlight on a weakening of […]
In total, the one mayor-president, five city council members, five parish council members and nine school board members we’re electing will decide how $5 billion will be spent in our community over the next four years.
Years of kicking the infrastructure can down the road has finally caught up with us.
Some want to claim that the only thing preventing us from fixing our flooding issues is a shift in priorities. But the reality is that the parish can’t afford to fix its drainage system without more revenue.
The mayor-president believes Lafayette is in its best financial position ever. His optimism overlooks flatlining property tax revenue.
Lafayette’s retail sales are on the rise after a string of bad years. But we still have a long way to go.
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