Last night’s meeting of the Lincoln Parish Police Jury saw quite a bit of discussion about the 2021 jury budget, with a little bit of good news regarding the oil & gas severance tax that hasn’t been collected for the past couple of years.
Parish Treasurer Chris Hyde told the Finance Committee that the collection for 2021 should be at least $194 thousand greater than 2020, and could be more.
Said Hyde, “That’s a pretty conservative estimate. It could increase as much as seven or eight hundred thousand dollars.” Hyde said he was hopeful that revenue source would be back to normal sometime next year.
There was an increase in the Solid Waste Disposal Fund for equipment acquisition.
See here the budget documents.
It was evident that newly sworn in District Three Juror Richard Durrett had done his homework, as he had several comments and questions during the budget discussions that were directly on point.
The full jury ratified the committee’s recommendations, at set a public hearing on the budget for the Tuesday, December 8 jury meeting.
Also approved was the final plat for a new subdivision located on Farmerville Highway just north of the parish park.
Lincoln Parish News Online 
11/24/2020 at 3:46 pm |
Love Durrett. Breaking up “the squad.”
Calloway, 2019 FEMA tornado grant, Gullatt. People. Please. Remember what these jurors and the new parish administrator have done and know Durrett was not a party to any of it.
But he can help fix it.
11/24/2020 at 6:13 pm |
They are all bad for parish. Hyde won’t last long either. He’s green.
11/24/2020 at 7:56 pm |
I say we do away with 12 useless jurors and go with an elected parish president like they do in a lot of the southern parishes.
11/24/2020 at 8:28 pm |
Postel is just as bad. Pretending to be something he’s not for the sake of his sponsors. Good actor him.
11/24/2020 at 8:32 pm |
Doug and Chris are the best we have going for us in this parish. Get over the Tracey issue.
11/24/2020 at 9:54 pm |
If that’s true we’re in trouble.
11/25/2020 at 8:52 am |
I’ve heard people describe the both of them as oily. Hyde’s a good guy.
11/25/2020 at 11:08 am |
How can oily be a “ good guy?” I think oily is opposite of good guy.
11/24/2020 at 8:38 pm |
Sore winner
11/25/2020 at 9:13 am |
Aren’t Gullatt and Durrett related in some way? No wonder those new jurors pulled out all the stops to prevent his reappointment. You know, coming up with some obscure policy to make sure he couldn’t be appointed. Who’s to say that policy wasn’t created overnight by the people who would benefit from it? There was no date on that policy. There’s no way for the public to know is there? They don’t have a copy made available to the public. I wouldn’t put it past them. I hope Durrett cleans that place up despite the roadblocks they’re putting in his way.
People need to wake up.
11/26/2020 at 7:15 am |
After seeing this new policy that Postel so conveniently pulled from obscurity and included in the packets the jurors got, one of the jurors walked up to Hunt before the meeting and actually said, “This is how we can get rid of Gullatt.” Wanna bet Hunt already knew and had instructed his crony Postel to make it happen?
Start going to the pj meetings people. Know what your “leaders” are doing and how honest they actually are. Get involved.
Overheard them trying to pull Wyatt into the situation. She wasn’t having it. At least she admit her mistakes and tries to correct. And nobody listens to her when she tries to call them out on their bullshit.
So much bullshit going on behind closed doors. Wake up.
11/26/2020 at 7:24 pm |
Wyatt is the best one . She’s not hypocritical .
11/28/2020 at 4:39 am |
They’re not leaders. They’re representatives.
12/04/2020 at 11:24 am |
You might find that Durrett is the one that drafted that policy….
11/24/2020 at 9:00 pm |
To “get over the Tracey issue” is to say what the jurors did to Calloway was right. It was not. Total lack of integrity in every way. Get over yourself. The citizens of this parish are not stupid. Tracy grew up in this town. People know him. The fact that Postel tried to paint him as dangerous is ludicrous. Postel is the drama queen. Not Calloway. He is the kindest most good hearted man that I know. You can’t even spell his name correctly.
Why did Postel get fired from the community college? Nobody wants to talk about it. Very interesting.
This is not “political infancy” stuff as some people want to say. This is deliberate deception.
Postel wants to paint himself as above others. Listen to the recordings of the pj meetings. How condescending he is to some of the jurors. He does not treat the jurors equally. He has a debt to repay. He wouldn’t have that $96k/year salary if it weren’t for a couple of those jurors. The ones he goes to church with.
11/24/2020 at 9:26 pm |
I too want to know why Postel left Delta
11/25/2020 at 7:50 am |
I go to church with those cats too. Hypocrites. Professed Christians doing un-Christian things. I also know Calloway. Would take him over the simpering of Postel any day.
11/24/2020 at 11:50 pm |
The entire education system is corrupt from the bottom up. It’s wrong doings going on at all levels but you will never a word about it. Numerous relationship between teacher and student, relationships between teacher/teacher on school property and school time, party’s given by teachers at their residents for students with alcohol allowed.
11/25/2020 at 9:32 am |
Vote NO for the library tax “renewal.” It’s not actually a renewal–your taxes WILL go up if passed. While the millage is the same as the last election, the police jury rolled back that amount because the library was taking in way too much money. Now the library wants to go back to the original rate rather than the adjusted rate. So if it passes, you WILL pay more taxes in the future than what you pay this year.
12/01/2020 at 1:14 pm |
Library tax increase
12/01/2020 at 11:28 pm |
Yes, we need to check this out and we also need a lesson in reading budgets. While I agree small businesses are struggling due to Covid what is being laid out by Mr. Owens may be misleading. Based on Mr. Owens’ comments one would think the library is spending 23% or $628,000 more in 2021 than in 2020. THAT IS NOT the case at all as Mr. Owens is apparently trying to make people believe. Let’s look at the budgets, here is a little lesson in reading budgets. The original 2020 budget projected an estimated Library Fund balance of $2,337,148.74. That amount was an estimate. Move over one column and the budget was amended, mainly due to an increase in revenue from the Ad Valorem Taxes, an original amount for the tax projected to be $1,432,252.45, the amended amount projected to be $2,103,048.00, this an increase of $670,795.55, again estimates, but fairly accurate). If you project an increase in revenue then guess what, your fund balance will increase also. This is called fund accounting or governmental accounting. Next, look at the actual increase in the projected expenses for 2021 over 2020. The projected expenses increased 8.743%, meaning in 2021 expenses are PROJECTED TO increase $198,609.45. Seeing these numbers it does not appear to me anything slipped through the cracks. What does concern me Rob is how much the library spends on drug testing and unemployment claims. I’m sure there is an explanation, but $6,000.00 budgeted in 2021 and $11,000.00 in 2020 before that number was amended to $7,000.00 makes me wonder who is being tested, how often and why. Does the library staff have that huge of a drug problem or that huge of a turnover in employees to warrant that amount in the budget? Possibly it’s the LWC taxes, one thing for sure, our new Treasurer could, and if asked would explain to us why the amount is what it is. I was told the budget was amended once he came on staff.
Back to the $628,000 question, people need to know the increase was due to increased income and the $628,000 is not an increase in spending, or an increase in any tax imposed on the citizens of Lincoln Parish.
I am a resident of Lincoln Parish and have been for 32 years. I fully support the renewal of the tax and I encourage the citizens of Lincoln Parish to vote YES for the Library Tax this coming weekend. This is not a new tax. I do not have the time to explain in this letter but it is the right thing to do for the citizens of this Parish.
Finally, isn’t it time to find good in the Police Jury and the Staff? As I read the negative comments on this site, it is obvious to me many do not have a clue of what is going on. I personally know some of the staff and these are fine people trying to do the right thing, trying to take the Parish to the next level, and yes some people do not want change. Look at technology in just the past couple of years, we better have the staff in place who can keep up and move us forward. Moving forward may mean a new Courthouse to house future needs. Thing about it, the Courthouse belongs to the citizens of this Parish, don’t we deserve a nice home? Seems the prisoners do, shouldn’t we have a public building that is not is disrepair, something we can be proud of? Shouldn’t we have a plant that can house our public offices in one place, such as the clerk of court, the courts and judges, the tax assessor, the police jury, register of voters, and on and on rather than offices being scattered all over the city and parish?
12/02/2020 at 6:42 am |
I voted early and voted yes. I believe we need a new courthouse because it’s true that place is on the verge of falling apart. I know the pj staff, and it’s true there are some good people on the third floor of the courthouse. However.
For the citizens to start finding good in the policy jury and their new administrator, the shady shit needs to stop. There have been several things that are just not on the up and up. People are not fools. I thought the shenanigans would end when there was so much turnover in the last election. It’s just gotten worse with this new jury. We are finding what they show us. And it ain’t good.
12/02/2020 at 6:45 am |
*police
12/02/2020 at 9:19 am |
I agree. There are hints of light. But the tunnel is still dark.
12/03/2020 at 10:08 am |
And Postel better stop trying to blame his and his staff’s mistakes on other agencies. Find the good? Really? That man is not making friends.
12/03/2020 at 10:22 am |
Yeah. I can’t wait for that special meeting. Every person in this parish needs to be in that one.
12/03/2020 at 10:37 am |
Read today’s Leader for info on this topic
12/03/2020 at 10:47 am |
Shut up, Doug! We know how to read budgets.
12/02/2020 at 11:54 am |
Vote no on any tax election we are tax enough already
12/03/2020 at 3:03 pm |
Yes, read the Leader, McBride nor the Sheriff apparently have been in tune with what has been going on in this Parish for the last six months. The millage rate has been a hot topic for several months, has McBride and Williams had their heads in the sand? The Police Jury, the Library, and the Library Board of Control have been all over the Leader and this website for sometime. SOMEONE in two offices did not proof the millage rates on the tax notices apparently or know what the rates were, both are elected officials. Seems if there is a problem now there was a problem then, and there will be a problem in the future with these two offices. Who is trying to blame who?
By the way, Doug Postel did not write the comments about how to read the budget. I DID! And, by the way, I am not an employee or affiliated with the PJ office in anyway. Appears the Leader and others just want to stir a pot and create conflict if at all possible. Tell me how the PJ held up the millage. The PJ does not publish the tax notices, access the tax, nor collect the tax. This is the job of the Tax Assessor and the Sheriff.
I have only written two comments on this website in life, the first the other evening in response to Mr. Owens’ comments and now. This
will be my final, I sure some of you will appreciate that and you can continue carrying on your non-sense. I don’t know, but I might suspect this website is read less than the Leader.
The reason I responded to Mr. Owen’s comments is because what he wrote is wrong, this Parish needs a library and most of the comments I see written about the tax are incorrect. I guess we can do like others have, defund the Police Jury, the Library, the Sheriff’s Office, Solid Waste, Road Maintenance, and all other governmental bodies. If we were to do that you would really have something to complain about.
If you want change, go to a Police Jury Meeting and voice your opinion, call your Police Juror, get the facts! Let the staff in the PJ office do their jobs. The elected officials need to serve the people and not themselves.
12/03/2020 at 4:03 pm |
Not so. They had been trying to get those numbers for days possibly weeks and were being ignored by the pj staff who then sent numbers that were wrong. It’s the pj’s job not the other offices.
Nancy Bergeron did her friend Postel a favor by not including his name in that article. Why? Isn’t he the administrator? Everything that happens in that office is his responsibility even if his people are responsible. At least that’s the way it works in my office. I’m the manager. Anything coming from my department is my responsibility. During this meeting Postel asked, “Who are we going to blame for this?” He was dead serious. Jaws dropped because even if it was a joke it was a brazen comment to make. Please start going to pj meetings!! Force accountability.
12/03/2020 at 7:02 pm |
That would have never happened with Courtney. Or Tracey. The only thing I can think is that Postel has declined Courtney’s help because he doesn’t think he needs it anymore.
12/04/2020 at 11:02 am |
Didn’t take him long to throw Hyde under the bus, did it?
12/03/2020 at 7:12 pm |
That strategy is as old as the Roman Republic, btw. Blame the elected officials even if it’s not their fault. Get over yourself.
12/04/2020 at 11:34 am |
Everybody agrees we need a public Library. We will have one after the vote. Even if it took a year to pass an acceptable tax, the Library could function normally on its reserve.
5.85 mills for a public library in Lincoln Parish is just too much. For the Library’s Board of Control to come back with something reasonable (say max 5 mills with assessments at 3 mills until the reserve balance is 50% of annual expenses) so that we can be prudent with the public’s money.
12/04/2020 at 1:30 pm |
Library has so much money in the bank they don’t know what to do with it. That’s why the police jury rolled back the millage at one point. Now the library wants to bring it back up to the old rate. That’s an increase, not a “renewal.”
01/23/2021 at 1:12 pm |
I don’t know what is so new and interesting here, no doubt useful, but still secondary …