Gueydan Sets Dec. 1 Budget Hearing as Town Moves $195,000 From Utilities to Cover Payroll and Bills

Town records also show Gueydan is asking the state again for money to build a new police and fire station, and a state water project ruled ineligible. Both men in the Dec. 12 mayor’s runoff sit on the board that voted on these items.

Gueydan residents will get a chance to weigh in on the town’s money next month. A public hearing on two budgets is set for Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall, according to the agenda the town posted for its November meeting. The council plans to take final votes at its regular meeting right after, at 6 p.m.

The hearing covers an amended budget for 2026 and a proposed operating budget for 2027. Both were up for introduction at the board’s Nov. 4 meeting. The town had not posted minutes of that meeting as of Sunday.

Utility money covering payroll

Gueydan has been shifting money out of its utility fund, which collects water, sewer and gas payments, to cover general expenses. The Board of Aldermen ratified $120,000 in transfers from the utility fund to the general fund in September, according to the minutes of its Oct. 9 meeting, plus $7,431.64 from the sales tax fund. The town’s October agenda labels those transfers as going to payroll, bills and BCBS, the Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance.

The November agenda lists another $75,000 moved from utilities to the general fund during October, again marked for payroll and bills. The board was set to ratify those transfers Nov. 4.

Police and fire station, water project

Larry Cramer of Sellers & Associates, the town’s engineering firm, advised the board to reapply for state capital outlay money for a new police and fire station. The minutes say the project was ranked Priority 5 in the last round. The board passed a resolution to apply for the 2027-2028 program and committed the town to pay at least 25% of the cost, plus any overruns. Mayor Jude Reese is authorized to sign the paperwork.

Cramer also told the board the state’s Louisiana Water Initiative has ruled a town project ineligible. The firm planned a call with the state to find out why, according to the minutes.

Other business

The town’s Oct. 6 regular meeting did not happen: no quorum showed up and no one attended, the minutes say. The board met three days later, with Mayor Pro Tem John Laseter presiding and Aldermen Laurel Portie and Anita Dupuis absent.
Two old town Ford pickups were declared junk. A vote to declare the town’s John Deere tractor surplus was put off, and it returned on the November agenda.
Alderman Efrem Livingston asked for an ordinance requiring dog kennels to have a washout connected to the sewer. The board tabled it to get more information, and it is also back on the November agenda.
Town employees get Christmas Eve as a paid holiday this year.

The runoff connection

The two candidates in Gueydan’s Dec. 12 mayor’s runoff, Jason Suire and Efrem “Zim” Livingston, are both aldermen. Suire made or seconded nearly every motion at the Oct. 9 meeting, and Livingston seconded several, including the transfers. The budget hearing falls 11 days before voters choose between them.

Gueydan no longer has a newspaper of its own. The Vermilion Times reads the town’s meeting records and covers Gueydan regularly. Want to help? We’re looking for a [Gueydan correspondent](/send-news/#write).