Mayor Kip Holden’s administration wants to amend the city-parish’s 2016 budget to appropriate roughly $47 million for flood-related expenses.
The requested amendment was placed this morning on the Metro Council’s agenda to be introduced at today’s 4 p.m. meeting, says William Daniel, Holden’s chief administrative officer. Once introduced, the proposed amendment will be up for vote on Sept. 28.
The appropriation will support $31 million for debris equipment, $5 million for emergency protective measures, $10 million for equipment and building repairs, and $899,000 for disaster grant management and administration, the item’s supporting documentation says.
“Recovery efforts are underway and it is necessary to establish appropriations which will support some of the work that has been authorized,” reads documentation supporting the proposed budget amendment. “These estimates are very preliminary and it is possible that additional supplemental appropriations will be required once more detailed damage assessments are completed.”
The city-parish is in the process of finalizing the estimates associated with the mid-August flood that left 13 dead and thousands of homes and businesses devastated.
Holden’s administration expects the appropriation to be funded mostly by the federal government. President Barack Obama last week authorized increasing the federal government’s share of recovery costs from 75% to 90%. Any leftover costs the city-parish might incur will come from “budget stabilization, and other funds,” the supporting documentation says.
In a separate item, the city-parish’s finance department says it lacks the staff or expertise needed to maximize federal and state grant reimbursements associated with the summer’s flood.
To help, Holden’s administration is asking the Metro Council to approve a professional services contract not to exceed $899,000 for CSRS Inc., a regional design and program management firm that now employs Holden’s former CAO Walter Monsour, who leads the firm’s private sector development business unit.
The administration says it received 19 responses to a request for proposals from companies that can help the city-parish apply for the maximized grant dollars. CSRS was selected because of its experience, capacity to meet the city-parish’s needs and reasonable hourly rates.
A hearing on the contract will take place today.
In other council business, the city-parish Department of Public Works-Maintenance Division will give a report on the conditions of Baton Rouge’s drainage canals and bayous in light of the August flooding.
The council also will take up the proposed 2% hotel occupancy tax in the North Baton Rouge Economic Development District.
The council meets at 4 p.m. today on the ninth floor of City Hall, 222 St. Louis St. See the full agenda.
