St. Martinville – The St. Martin Parish Government received a clean audit result with only one quickly-corrected issue discovered by auditors this past year.
CPA Charles “Chip” Maraist said the parish government never receives an unqualified opinion as a whole because some of the parish’s component units such as Recreation District No. 1, Hospital District No. 2 and Water District No. 4 are not presented as part of the parish audit.
“But this is considered a clean opinion on the funds that you do present,” Maraist said. “So your audit report is a good, unqualified opinion.”
An unqualified audit opinion is an independent auditor’s report declaring that the financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects and comply with government auditing standards and Louisiana laws and regulations.
The one finding that the auditors discovered was in regards to the parish library’s investment funds. In October of 2025, Maraist said, the library switched funds to a local bank that the library had never done business with in an effort to secure higher interest rates.
When audit confirmations were sent out, the bank realized that the account had more than $250,000 in it that were not secured with public funds as required by state law. Either FDIC insurance or a pledge of federal security must secure all public funds, Maraist said. After Dec. 31, about 3 1/2 months after the investment was made, the bank pledged a $1 million letter of credit to secure the funds, Maraist said.
“It’s already been corrected, but we have to list it as a finding at Dec. 31 that you had about $700,000 of unsecured public funds, and it’s as a result of that big library investment,” he said. “And the library does have significant investment funds.
“But that is the only audit finding we had this year, the only compliance finding.”
The audit also looks at the financial state of the parish in addition to how it presents its financial statements.
“You can have a clean audit opinion even though you’re doing poorly,” Maraist said. “That just indicates that your financial statements are fairly presented. Sometimes if you’re doing poorly, a fairly presented audit is going to show you’re doing poorly.
“That’s not the case with the parish government, though. Actually, the general fund ended the year with a $3.5 million surplus. Your special revenue funds that you use to provide recreation, public works, drainage, road maintenance, health unit maintenance, those funds have built up to where you have about an $85 million surplus cumulatively in all those funds, which is very good. You have to provide services by availing yourself of those funds, and there’s quite sufficient funding to provide for those requirements.”
Maraist said he also looks at the parish’s revenue streams to see if they’re keeping up with the rate of inflation and what the parish needs to accomplish.
Between 2024 and 2025, the parish’s ad valorem revenues increased from $17.2 to $17.8 million, a little over a 3.5 percent increase. The rate of inflation was 2.7 percent over that period, so the revenue stream more than kept pace, he said.
Sales tax collections were virtually the same. The video poker revenues increased about 8.5 percent over 2024, which surprised Maraist.
“But all your revenue sources in total are really on the uptick,” Maraist said.
The SpaceX plans in Louisiana are expected to bring 3,000 direct jobs and 8,000 indirect jobs to Vermilion Parish and neighboring parishes including St. Martin Parish, he said.
“Vermilion Parish is going to get the lion’s share of it, I’m sure, but that’s all going to bleed over into the surrounding parishes with jobs and a lot of our contractors will provide some of the services, so I anticipate that’s going to be a real big boon to the local economy,” Maraist said. “They’re supposed to start construction in ’27, so we’ll see what that brings.”
The audit opinions were good other than the one finding that has already been corrected, he said, and finances are generally on the upswing, if not sharply. With the Covid era gone, only two major federal funding sources ($1 million of revenues annually) are readily available, the GOMESA (Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act) and HUD Section 8 funding, Maraist said.
“Some of your federal funding has dried up but we expected that after the Covid money was used up,” he said. “But even with that, things have kept on an even keel. You’re even slightly outpacing the rate of inflation. As a financial indicator I think that’s good. One of the audit tests I do every year of reasonableness is are you keeping pace with the rate of inflation.”
All of the parish’s revenue streams are keeping pace with inflation from 2024 to 2025, he said. But Maraist issued a word of caution on the financial state. Since the conflict with Iran started, the U.S. is in a hyperinflation state where the rate of inflation is up 4 percent in nine months. Annualized that’s about a 5.3 percent rate. A lot is a result of fuel costs, including diesel, which is a big part of the parish’s costs.
“So it’s something that bears watching, but y’all are in such good financial position, I think a fractional change like that is not really going to impair you,” he said.
Acadiana Workforce Julia Castle of Acadiana Workforce Solutions spoke to the council about services offered to businesses in the parish, and about a career fair scheduled in St. Martinville on Nov. 10.
“The career fair on the 10th is to try to promote awareness of the businesses that are in the area, trying to give them the opportunity to identify qualified job seekers,” Castle said. “As y’all know, there’s SpaceX coming up, there’s businesses that are coming into various areas. We’re trying to get ahead of it.
“We’re asking to partner with you to help us identify the businesses that are in need of our services first and foremost.”
She highlighted some of her group’s programs such as an on-the-job training program where Acadiana Workforce Solutions pays qualified job seekers up to 50 percent of their starting salary, to a maximum of $5,000. Businesses must be looking to hire permanent employees to qualify for the program.
Acadiana Workforce also has a program where it could pay up to $4,800 for people in mentorship programs with local businesses.
Tax credits and apprenticeships also are options, she said. With work requirements coming down for many SNAP and Medicare recipients, a lot of people will be looking for jobs or doing volunteer work.
“We’re trying to identify employers that are willing to assist these individuals,” she said.
She asked council members to relay her email to businesses that might be interested in taking part in the career fair.
Council chairman Chris Tauzin asked if Acadiana Workforce Solutions had contacted St. Martin Economic Development Authority Director Jennifer Stelly, and said he would share the information with her.
“I would think she would be an invaluable resource, and also Miss Carla JeanBatiste because the (SMEDA) Industrial Park is in her (parish council) district,” Tauzin said.
Tauzin also asked if South Louisiana Community College worked with Acadiana Workforce Solutions, and Castle said SLCC and other community colleges such as LSU-Eunice are educational partners with Acadiana Workforce.
She said her group wants to work with businesses to find out what equipment employees need to be trained to work with so they can act as a liaison with colleges and technical schools to ensure the students there are trained on the proper equipment to find jobs with local employers.
In other business
The council discussed the Catahoula Coulee Culvert Replacement Project, which was delayed by a couple of events including the beginning of harvesting of the sugar cane crop.
Parish President Pete Delcambre presented three options for the work to the council, though it seemed the numbers on the work were inverted in some cases and Delcambre planned to get the correct numbers for the council before its next meeting.
A base bid from La. 96 to Emile Road and Bernice Road was at $1.228 million. Engineering fees brought the total to $1.38 million.
Alternate 1 was for a change order that had been dismissed at one point but was brought back for the alternate option. That work was for the culvert in Catahoula to Catahoula Lake at a total of $160,000 including engineering fees. The total estimate on that work was $1.541 million.
An option replacing culverts all the way to the beginning of the canal came out to just over $2.173 million including the previously canceled change order.
Councilman Hoyt Louviere said he would like to see the parish pursue the work the entire length of the area to Catahoula Lake just to take care of all issues at once.
Tauzin asked where the parish is regarding siltation building up in the lake again before the work begins on the culverts. Right where the culverts drain into the lake is where the sandbar is building up, he said.
Delcambre said Sellers & Associates was going to do surveys on the area before work began, but noted that where the river turns, there is going to be an accumulation of sand and that’s where the coulee flows into the lake.
“The only concern I have is where alternate 1 drains into the lake, that’s where the silt is at,” he said. “In low water conditions, when you get a south wind you can see a sandbar building up right there. So my question would be, are we going to be cleaning that area out, or opening that area? What are our plans to open that up to get it to the portion of the lake that is draining?”
Delcambre said that because of where the river bend is, siltation will build up over time.
After a discussion with St. Martinville Mayor Jason Willis, the parish council agreed to a deal with the city to a 50-50 split on paying for change orders for work on the Sieber Road project.
The parish and city had previously discussed a 75-25 split with the city paying for 75 percent of change orders since 75 percent of the project is in the city limits. The state had provided funds to the city for this phase of the project and the city and parish were waiting to finalize an intergovernmental agreement before the work started.
Delcambre also discussed projects currently under way.
The Petroleum Parkway tentative construction completion date is mid-December. The contractor is assuming the actual date of Jan. 18.
The 2025 road improvement projects were substantially complete on Oct. 8 and the 45-day lien period has been entered.
The water consolidation projects also are heading toward completion. The new well casing has been put in place with test pumping scheduled.
Jail roof work is complete with razor wire being delivered and expected to be installed soon.
Annex building work is slightly ahead of schedule.
Ruth Barn steel demolition was scheduled this week with steel expected to be delivered for construction soon.
The Cecilia Civic Center awning project is being done with some work waiting until after the Nov. 2 election to be started so the work does not interfere with elections.
WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS – Julia Castle, right, and Sandra Darbonne of Acadiana Workforce Solutions speaks at this past week’s St. Martin Parish Council meeting about the services offered to businesses and workers in the parish. (Chris Landry)
