As news of the election fades, a new burden faces City Council & the new mayor. While Hathian for years has been poorer than other Louisiana towns, Councilwoman Perina McGinnis found just prior to voting the city’s treasury was empty, leaving no money for the remainder of the fiscal year.
It’s unclear what happened to the funds. Sources say there had been over half of the city’s yearly budget remaining just weeks prior to the resignations of former Mayor Karn Neville and Councilwoman Inara Shen. However, current Mayor Nick Matfield insists an investigation into the disappearance would be a waste of time and resources, choosing to focus instead on finding funds for Hathian.
So now begins an unprecedented task. City services are likely to take the biggest hit, as the budget funds all municipal departments. Audits of Hathian Police Department, Fire Department of Hathian, Hathian General Hospital, and Civil Services are already underway, and certain services such as animal control, waste management, and public works have begun reduced operations. While the scope of this is still undetermined, citizens are asked to be patient during this time.
