Council reallocates surplus funds to clear FEMA deficit and support capital matches

The Harahan City Council approved a budget ordinance on Sept. 28 to reconcile and reclassify city funds, commit balances for capital matching, and address unreimbursed FEMA costs.

Finance staff reported the FEMA fund carried a negative balance of about $1,300,000; the ordinance transfers general-fund surplus to bring the FEMA fund to zero and lists $860,000 in current capital-match obligations for ongoing projects. The ordinance also authorized a $25,000 transfer from the fire sales-tax fund into the general fund to pay for statutorily required firefighter cancer screenings and allocated $9,000 for additional senior-center bathroom upgrades and $60,000 for a state-contract mini‑excavator for maintenance work.

Walter, who presented the monthly financials, said that after the amendments the general-fund surplus would be roughly $707,000 and the capital fund surplus about $795,000 (estimates), leaving the city able to match state-funded projects. Council members debated deleting a $78,000 Colonial drainage item and later agreed to strike it from the ordinance to preserve capital match capacity. The council approved the redlines and subsequent amendments by recorded vote.