By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – The St. Tammany Parish Council stuck to their guns regarding the financial crisis the parish is facing these days by unanimously vetoing an attempt by Parish President Mike Cooper to add $1.65 million back into the 2026 budget.
With two council members absent from the special meeting last Thursday, it was a 12-0 vote in favor of overriding the veto. The council needed at least 10 votes for a super majority to succeed with the override.
The council passed the 2026 budget two weeks ago, now at $202 million. The budget included a cut of $650,000 from the Save Haven mental health campus, and also cut out a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for parish employees that would have cost $1 million.
The council passed the 2026 budget two weeks ago, now at $202 million. The budget included a cut of $650,000 from the Save Haven mental health campus, and also cut out a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for parish employees that would have cost $1 million.
But a week later, Cooper made an attempt to restore funding to both of those areas by vetoing the budget and putting the money back in.
Many council members were not happy to see Cooper’s lack of support for their efforts to cut spending.
“We appreciate our employees and it was nothing against them to pull the COLA raises,” said Councilman Jerry Binder. “But these are tough times and we had to make a tough decision on the budget.
“Let’s just say I am disappointed in this decision,” newly-elected Council Chairman Cheryl Tanner said. “It is time to realize we have serious problems and to spend $1.6 million more is not helping us.”
“Mike Cooper cares more about the employee salaries than he does his commitment to the people of St. Tammany Parish,” Councilman Arthur Laughlin stated, continuing his sharp attacks on the parish president. “He’s the shepherd of us all, but he’s not a very good shepherd.”
Cooper said he felt it was critical to give the raises to ensure employees remain happy and felt appreciated.
“Supporting the team which keeps our parish operating efficiently and effectively remains a top priority for me,” Cooper said in the letter to his employees.
However, the council, which has been in the spotlight for many months due to the budget problem that led to a 30 percent cut for 2026 to public safety agencies, showed their determination to make the tough decisions.
“I know the parish president has the right to veto it, but given the financial situation of our parish, the final budget without the raises was the difficult thing we had to do,” Binder added.
Many council members expressed concern after the veto from Cooper about whether they could muster the 10 votes. However, in the end, the council made a united decision to stand on the side of fiscal responsibility.
“It was the right thing to do,” said Councilman Joe Impastato.
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