A year that started with a series of acrimonious debates among St. Mary Parish Council members ended Dec. 18 with warm Christmas greetings, and a focus on the relationship between parish government and special purpose boards and commissions.

The council will even talk about a subject some local business leaders have been advocating for years: consolidating at least a portion of the patchwork of districts that provide fire protection, water and sewer service, recreation, and more.

The early 2024 arguments were largely over parish finances that new Parish President Sam Jones said were overburdened by debt.

But "when we had our differences," Jones said at 2024's last regular meeting, "we always ended up eating at The Forest."

Several items on the Dec. 18 agenda dealt with the special district boards, relations with which have been occasionally contentious in 2024.

All the members of one district and four of five members of another resigned over the course of the year. The consolidation of drainage districts serving Morgan City and Amelia has been a sore spot, especially after Morgan City was overwhelmed by heavy rain during Hurricane Francine. And cash reserves held by some districts have become an issue as the overall parish budget came under scrutiny.

Council Chair Gwendolyn Hidalgo of Bayou Vista and Vice Chair Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink of Centerville put an item on the meeting agenda calling for discussion about the possible consolidation of special purpose districts. The council will take up that issue in the new year.

Chief Administrative Officer Paul Governale said the number of districts in St. Mary is at 51 when advisory boards are included.

Rink asked for information about the districts compiled by a parish employee a few years ago.

Said Rink: "At least it'll give us the opportunity to see what he collected and see what other information we need to update and re-collect to see if we have an appropriate number or we need to consolidate some altogether and the appropriate way to do it."

In a related matter, Councilman J Ina of Franklin introduced an ordinance that would require training for members of boards and commissions. Ina has also pushed for a revamping of the parish government's personnel policies and its organizational chart.

A district-related matter came up again when Councilman David Hill of Bayou Vista sought about $13,600 for a fire alarm system for Recreation District No. 3. Hill asked for the funding to be disbursed from the 3/10th-cent sales tax fund for Wards 5 and 8.

Jones asked for information about the district's finances, including the availability of $1 million in district funds. Some councilmen objected, saying they thought the spending from the fund was supposed to be blocked as part of budget belt-tightening.

The measure passed by a 7-3 vote with Rink abstaining. Voting no were Les Rulf of Patterson, Dean Adams of Morgan City and Rodney Olander of Franklin.

Adams wanted a discussion on whether district tax propositions should appear on primary or general election ballots.

The Dec. 7 general election ballot in St. Mary contained seven tax propositions, all of which passed. Two were new public safety taxes in Franklin and Baldwin, and three were School Board maintenance district renewals, none of which are under the authority of the parish government.

The ballot also included a property tax renewal for Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1 and a new 9-mill property tax for Hospital Service District No. 2 for physical plant upgrades at the district-owned hospital now operating as Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City.

Local governments often place tax propositions on general election ballots, which tend to have lower turnouts than primaries, especially during presidential and gubernatorial election years.

And Adams told the council that some of his constituents didn't like that fact Dec. 7, when the turnout was only about 16%.

"I don't know if you all got complaints," Adams said, "but that's all I heard."

Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick noted that election deadlines can require local governments to call for elections up to a year in advance for a primary, but the deadlines for general elections are easier to meet.

The council took no immediate action on Adams' agenda item.

Also Dec. 18:

-- The council passed a resolution passing along an increase in trash pickup fees in the unincorporated parish. The rate for Pelican Waste pickup will be $23.32 per month per household, up from $22.80.

-- The council passed a resolution of respect for Bayou Vista attorney and two-term Councilman Robert "Scott" Ramsey, who died Dec. 7.