Last year's approved budget for the town of Abita Springs came in at $10.7 million but this year it has decreased to $6.6 million. The decrease in the budget is due to the outlook there will be less spending in 2022. This is reflected in the budget that was approved in December 2021 and created by Mayor Dan Curtis.
The biggest change is in the utility fund. Last year the town budgeted $7.9 million for utilities work but this year the budget only allows $3.2 million. The reason for the high budget amount last year was due to the &&&ongoing rehab of the town’s sewer lines, lift stations and sewage treatment plant, the mayor said.****
The Mayor also anticipates help from the American Rescue Act for COVID-19 relief and from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for damages due to Hurricane Ida. This will help with the expenses for any town maintenance such as a new secondary water well and streetscaping the area that is around Abita Springs Town Hall. The budget does include plans to use the money on certain proposed projects already. These include $192,300 for parks and recreation: $45,000 for the cemetery fund and $34,900 for the lighting fund.
“We were very open about everything in the process,” Curtis said. “When you have a council that works with you the way ours does, it makes it easy to get things done.”
