$17M for City Hall, $40M for Sportsplex — Guess Which One’s the Scandal

Regular readers should remember the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Center proposing yet another 150,000-square-foot sports complex at an estimated taxpayer cost of $40 million, and no one bats an eye. Additionally, no one seems to care about a $64 million “Law Enforcement Center” for Sheriff Garber. It even includes over $2 million more for a private “fitness center” that you pay for, but can’t utilize. Talk about a waste of tax dollars.

No, the selective outrage is reserved for a $17 million, multi-year proposal contained in the LCG budget to refurbish the City and Parish’s existing administrative building, also known as City Hall. So, why is this $17 million proposal sparking more outrage than over $108 million in other taxpayer-funded projects in Lafayette Parish? Good question.

The Boulet Budget – By the Numbers

Last month, Mayor-President Monique Boulet submitted her proposed budget to the Lafayette Parish and City Councils. Over the next few weeks, several budget hearings will be held for the public and affected agencies to participate in. How does that proposal differ from previous years? Overall, a review of LCG budgets of earlier years reveals a steady trend.

For example, the last budget adopted under the Joel Robideaux administration totaled $632.2 million. That was the budget Josh Guillory inherited for the first ten months of his term in office. The first budget adopted under the Guillory administration saw an initial slight reduction of 3.68%, followed the next year by an increase of 3.55%. The budget adopted under the Guillory administration for FY 2022-2023 resulted in a significant 11.89% increase, or $75 million, from the previous year. The final budget adopted under the Guillory administration would increase to $710.2 million.

We have seen a similar up-and-down trend in the state government budgets as well. The FY 2020-2021 budget adopted under former Governor John Bel Edwards was $35.988 billion. That number would increase by 8–10% over the next few years, with the final adopted budget under the Edwards administration reaching $46.515 billion. With Governor Jeff Landry at the helm, our legislature reduced the budget by about 4% to $44.633 billion for FY 2024-2025. However, the most recently adopted budget increased by 19.89% to $ 53.51 billion.

The first budget adopted under the Boulet administration for FY 2024-2025 was an increase of 5.9% or $41.8 million. The proposed budget, as submitted and currently under review for the upcoming fiscal year, has increased by 6.86% or $51.5 million from the previous year.

Is Renovating City Hall Warranted?

The current site where Lafayette City Hall stands has undergone significant changes in the last century. In 1918, it was where Mr. and Mrs. Luke Martin built their home, a two-story structure surrounded by live oak trees along the Old Spanish Trail. The house was then occupied by the Carmelite Nuns from 1936 until they relocated to Carmel Drive in 1956. The property was then purchased by Sears & Roebuck, which constructed a new store on the site. When Sears moved to the new Acadiana Mall in south Lafayette Parish in 1979, it sold the building to the City of Lafayette, and it has served as the seat of City Government since that time.

Although City Hall continues to use the original 1958 escalators, the building has undergone many changes over the years as well. Minor renovation projects have been undertaken as different administrations with varying visions and concerns have sought to maximize the space’s utilization. Whether it was erecting a private garage, installing bulletproof glass for protection, or even a cutting-edge podcasting studio (that appears to have never been used), minor changes occur. The aging building has served its purpose, but instead of continuing to deteriorate and fall into complete disrepair, the current administration believes it is salvageable. They are seeking $5 million this year, with an overall investment of $17 million sprinkled incrementally over several years for the 78,000-square-foot space, which houses hundreds of employees from both the city and parish governments.

As it stands, the Lafayette City Hall appears to be the oldest municipal hall in use in the parish. The Carencro and Broussard City Halls both appear to date to around the late 1970s, although additional annex buildings have been added over time. Of course, the City of Broussard recently purchased property for $5.3 million as part of an effort to alleviate overcrowding in the existing municipal building. More recently, the City of Broussard purchased another piece of property for $3.67 million to serve as the future home of its City Hall and Municipal Complex. The City of Scott built its current municipal complex in 1995. In contrast, the City of Youngsville acquired the site for its 16,400-square-foot municipal complex in 2021, at a cost of around $5.5 million to serve as the city hall for decades to come, or at least as long as the foundation remains sound.

The Journey of a Thousand Miles

Lao Tzu is credited with the works found in the Tao Te Ching, which includes the Chinese proverb: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” If you don’t take that first step, the journey never starts. The task of walking a thousand miles may seem impossible, but with each passing day, procrastination and putting it off only make it seem further from reach. That is the state of too many of our government buildings in Lafayette Parish.

There are certain statutory obligations incumbent upon our Parish Governing authority. For instance, Louisiana Revised Statute 33:4713 provides:

“Each parish shall provide and bear the expense of a suitable building and requisite furniture for the sitting of the district and circuit courts and such offices, furniture, and equipment as may be needed by the clerks and recorders of the parish for the proper conduct of their offices and shall provide such other offices as may be needed by the sheriffs of these courts and by the tax collectors and assessors of the parish and shall provide the necessary heat and illumination therefor.”

Our current Parish Courthouse, which houses the offices of the District Court Judges, the Clerk of Court, and the District Attorney, was built in 1965. In recent years, it has seen an investment of over $25 million to keep it in use. The basement once housed the 911 Communication District Offices until they purchased property and built a new 23,000-square-foot building in 2020 for approximately $10 million.

Likewise, the City Court, which is the responsibility of the City of Lafayette, was built in 1966. It underwent a significant renovation in the late 1990s, followed by several subsequent minor renovations to maintain its operational status.

More Obligations

The Parish also owes obligations to the Coroner and the Registrar of Voters. The existing morgue and coroner administrative offices were constructed in 1983. The Registrar of Voters is housed in the old Parish Government building located at 1010 Lafayette Street. That same building once housed the Tax Assessor’s Office until the previous administration forced them to purchase their own office space in 2021 for $1.72 million.

Then there is always the hot topic. The Sheriff and the jail. The existing parish jail was built in 1984, with the Sheriff building other jail facilities, most notably in 1993 and 2014. The parish jail has undergone several multi-million-dollar renovation projects over the years, and yet remains the center of debate and litigation.

During the 2025 Regular Session, our state lawmakers appropriated $35 million to our parish government for “Parish Government Complex, Jail, New Design, Planning and Construction.” Additionally, the Sheriff received an appropriation of $64 million for a “Law Enforcement Center, planning and construction”, which included $17.5 million previously allocated for “Parish Government Complex, Jail, New Design, Planning and Construction.” That’s not all. Sheriff Garber received two more appropriations, $2.565 million for “range upgrades” and $2.01 million in priority one money for “crime scene and evidence storage/fitness center.” Perhaps the jail isn’t as much of a priority as he would have us all believe.

Increases in Capital Appropriations

The proposed budget, presented to the Council for approval, which will be heavily debated over the next few months, seeks capital appropriations totaling $95.703 million, an increase of $17.727 million, or 18.5%, from the previous year. It also brings the five-year capital improvement plan total to $940.462 million, or a 3.72% increase from year over year.

In the grand scheme of things, a $17 million proposed renovation to a building that will soon be 70 years old seems to be serving as a distraction from other things. What could that be?

Nevertheless, the budget process is just getting started. Mayor-President Boulet has submitted her proposals, which will be discussed and debated over the next few weeks. At the end of the day, whether or not a decision to invest money into the existing City Hall is left in the budget must be decided by the Council. Some will stomp their feet in support, and others will stomp their feet in opposition. We will know the result soon enough.

Ultimately, the Council Controls the Budget

High spending amounts catch our eyes at all levels of government. We could also look at the federal government’s spending levels. We would likely see a very similar trend, just with a transition from millions of dollars in spending to billions of dollars. But at all levels of government, it is the Executive (President, Governor, or Mayor) who proposes the budget. At the same time, the legislative body (Congress, State Legislature, or Council) is ultimately responsible for setting fiscal policy and appropriating funds.

This separation of powers is an inherent part of the American system. As St. George Tucker, commenting on the Constitution, stated:

All the expenses of government being paid by the people, it is the right of the people, not only, not to be taxed without their own consent, or that of their representatives freely chosen, but also to be actually consulted upon the disposal of the money which they have brought into the treasury; it is therefore stipulated that no money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations, previously made by law: and, that the people may have an opportunity of judging not only of the propriety of such appropriations, but of seeing whether their money has been actually expended only, in pursuance of the same; it is further provided, that a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. These provisions form a salutary check, not only upon the extravagance, and profusion, in which the executive department might otherwise indulge itself, and its adherents and dependents; but also against any misappropriation, which a rapacious, ambitious, or otherwise unfaithful executive might be disposed to make. In those governments where the people are taxed by the executive, no such check can be interposed. The prince levies whatever sums he thinks proper; disposes of them as he thinks proper; and would deem it sedition against him and his government, if any account were required of him, in what manner he had disposed of any part of them. Such is the difference between governments, where there is responsibility, and where there is none.

Joseph Story, who undoubtedly had read the words of Tucker, put it this way:

“The object is apparent upon the slightest examination. It is to secure regularity, punctuality, and fidelity, in the disbursements of the public money. As all the taxes raised from the people, as well as the revenues arising from other sources, are to be applied to the discharge of the expenses, and debts, and other engagements of the government, it is highly proper, that congress should possess the power to decide, how and when any money should be applied for these purposes. If it were otherwise, the executive would possess an unbounded power over the public purse of the nation; and might apply all its monied resources at his pleasure. The power to control, and direct the appropriations, constitutes a most useful and salutary check upon profusion and extravagance, as well as upon corrupt influence and public peculation.

Final thoughts

The City Council, led by Democrat Kenneth Boudreaux (an employee of the Sheriff, by the way), has already taken to the microphone to bloviate about how fiscally conservative he is by amending the “wasteful” budget and removing the $17 refurbishment cost for City Hall. It probably doesn’t matter, though. The building’s 1958 infrastructure will likely last just long enough for the new Robert Judge Memorial Library to be finished. While it’s going to be nowhere near City Hall’s 78,000 square feet, the pricetag is already up to about $12 million… and yet “fiscal conservative” Kenneth Boudreaux hasn’t said a word about that either.

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