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.
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11 min read
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.
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5 min read
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.
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9 min read
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.
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11 min read
Those rosy unemployment numbers don’t tell the whole story
An improving unemployment rate offers an incomplete picture. Fewer people aren’t unemployed. Fewer people are working.
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5 min read
What happens when a Walmart dies?
Walmart’s decision shines a light on serious issues with no easy answers.
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7 min read
Retail and home sales up, unemployment down, but there’s more to this story
Recent headlines indicate 2018 might be the year our economy started recovering. But there’s ample evidence that any optimism should be guarded given the situation our economy’s in.
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9 min read
Robideaux’s library accusations are not grounded in fact
The mayor-president has accused the library system of defrauding taxpayers to the tune of $21 million dollars. Unfortunately for his credibility, the facts don’t back up his claims.
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13 min read
Moving library money only looks like a good idea
Mayor-President Robideaux wants to rededicate $18 million from the library’s fund balance to pave roads and clean coulees, but there are hidden costs that must be accounted for.
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8 min read
New federal data peers deeper into Lafayette’s economy, and it’s not good
New county-level economic data from the federal government paints a scary and precise picture of Lafayette’s economic decline.
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6 min read
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 […]