Parish staff lays out $80 million bonded road program with package-level finance transparency

Senior staff accountant Gina Miller told the Livingston Parish Finance Committee May 28 that the parish has prepared a package-level financial summary for its $80 million bonded road program designed to improve transparency.

Miller said the program is structured into individual packages that will be bid separately and that the packet provided to the committee shows which roads are in each package, the linear feet covered, district assignments and projected costs so members — and constituents — can compare dollars to physical work.

"What we've done is we've created packages, and those packages are bid out individually... you can have some transparency and you can see what the progress of the road program looks like from a dollar perspective," Miller said, explaining the report also flags whether a package is in design, bid or construction status.

Committee members praised the report as a useful transparency tool but noted that the document is a financial report rather than a construction schedule. Miller said financial statements and the package report will be provided monthly with updates as projects move through design and bidding.

Finance staff also described capital-equipment purchases for public works (two replacement dump trucks) and the parish’s debt service for the Better Roads program, which Housley said is funded through a sinking account receiving roughly $875,000 per month and paid twice a year to service the note. Staff recommended keeping current millage levels; Housley said a small assessor-driven assessment increase will add a few hundred thousand dollars to the road fund.