A series exploring the highs and lows of Lafayette’s economy, providing critical commentary about what’s working and what’s not.
Currency
COLUMN: Fiber’s fragile finances
Since launching 2008, LUS Fiber has missed its financial projections by $70 million. That puts it in a vulnerable position.
Column: If we want to fix Lafayette’s roads, we must stop building new ones
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.
COLUMN: Lafayette’s economy is rising but not recovering what was lost
GDP, personal income, employment, retail and real estate sales are all increasing, but without oil and gas recovering our economy is trending towards mediocrity.
Answering your questions about EDDs
Are they TIFs? How much are the taxes? Where are the districts?
COLUMN: EDDs gone wild as trust in government tanks
Setting aside the philosophical argument about EDDs in general, the way these particular districts are designed is problematic.
Analysis: Lafayette will have its hands full paying for pay raises
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 the city‘s finances. And there […]
We’ve got five billion reasons for you to vote
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.
COLUMN: The elephant in this election is Lafayette’s billion dollar infrastructure deficit
Years of kicking the infrastructure can down the road has finally caught up with us.
The parish can’t afford to fix drainage without more money
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.
Robideaux’s ‘mission accomplished’ optimism obscures a troubling reality
The mayor-president believes Lafayette is in its best financial position ever. His optimism overlooks flatlining property tax revenue.
When up is down in Lafayette’s retail sector
Lafayette’s retail sales are on the rise after a string of bad years. But we still have a long way to go.
Oil falls, coronavirus arrives, economic turmoil for Lafayette ahead
The gist: On Monday, the price of oil had its greatest one-day plunge ever, and coronavirus officially arrived in Louisiana. Markets tumbled nationally, with signs pointing toward a global recession on the horizon. These developments pose threats the Lafayette economy is particularly vulnerable to.