By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

CONVENT – The St. James Parish Council unanimously approved Parish President Dale Hymel’s budget proposal for 2011.

The approved budget includes $51.7 million in revenue and $51.8 million in expenditures for the coming year. St. James Parish spokesperson Melissa Wilkins said the revised budget shows slight increases for the general fund, capital projects and internal and debt services.

“Throughout the year departments within the parish are approved for special funding in the form of grants or other loans,” she said. “The budget is only an annual projection of the cost to operate the parish.”

Hymel said the expenditure represents a 9-percent increase over the 2010 figure. He said capital expenditures take up about $14.9 million of that figure. Notable capital projects for 2011 include $2.2 million for renovations to the Lutcher library, $783,000 for road and bridge maintenance, $1.5 million for wetlands mitigation and about $2 million for water system improvements.

In other action, the council approved a resolution to authorize the parish to seek funding from the Louisiana Office of Community Development’s 2011 Water Enrichment Fund.

Hymel said the parish is seeking about $142,800 through the fund, the maximum amount that a parish is allowed. He said the parish plans to use about $100,000 for improvements to the parish’s west bank water plant, specifically the plant’s clarifier.

The remaining 42,000 from the fund would be distributed to the towns of Gramercy and Lutcher for improvements to water systems in those communities.

The council also approved a resolution to award a more than $255,000 contract to Shelby Gaudet Contractors of Paincourtville for construction of the parish’s east bank waterline booster pump.

The firm’s estimate of $255,543 was the lowest of six bids accepted for the project. Funding for the booster pump is coming from a Coastal Impact Assistance Program Grant through the U.S. Department of Interior.

Finally, the council approved a resolution to allow the parish to enter into an agreement with the Pontchartrain Levee District to share in the cost of construction of the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane protection levee project.

The parish is responsible for 20 percent of the local portion of construction costs, which is only 20 percent of the entire cost.