It’s deja vu, all over again as Gonzales City Council rejected the 2026-27 General Fund Budget proposed by Mayor Tim Riley on Monday.  No one in the Riley administration was surprised by the outcome, a 3-2 vote against the primary operating budget, the same three members in opposition to the PACE Center Economic Development District budget […]

Gonzales City Attorney Allen Davis provided an opinion from Louisiana’s Attorney General after three council members vociferously criticized Mayor Tim Riley during a Budget Workshop this week.  Terri Lambert, Cynthia Gray James and Kirk Boudreaux launched a joint attack against a handful of salary increases, anticipating Monday’s vote on the 2026-27 budget.  “We need to […]

Whether or not to charge James Saizan of Liberty Fence & Supply criminally…it is an ongoing discussion.  Louisiana’s Licensing Board for Contractors investigators insist that Saizan violated Revised Statute 37:2163, Engaging in business of contracting without authority prohibited; penalty (see below) and should be charged.  Those investigators referred the matter to local authorities tasked with making […]

“We’re not doing cost of living this year,” Councilwoman Terri Lambert declared on Tuesday during a Special Working Meeting of Gonzales’ City Council, a workshop called by Mayor Tim Riley intended to avert a budget fiasco like the one embarrassing the city in 2025.  “What’s funny?” Lambert challenged a handful of city employees taken aback […]

Five years have elapsed since voters approved the sale of Ascension’s “wastewater utility system…and grant franchises to operate same to National Water Infrastructure (NWI).”  Last week a unanimous Parish Council resolved to execute an agreement with East Ascension Drainage Commission (EAD) to expedite the ” in the planning, acquiring and/or improving public projects, and providing […]

Loving Our Community Children (LOCC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to serving and uplifting youth and families, proudly celebrated its Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony yesterday at its new location, 320 East Ascension Street, Suite 107, Gonzales, Louisiana.  LOCC board members and volunteers were joined by Mayor Tim Riley and Councilman Eddie Williams with City […]

Gonzales’ City Council received 2024-25 Fiscal Year financial audit, focused on “three instances of non-compliance with Louisiana Public Bid Law.”  Engaged in mid-2025, Ericksen Krentel completed the audit at the end of February in stark contrast to years past.  The firm, without identifying the “vendor,” specifically criticized a sidewalk rehabilitation job given to Liberty Fence […]

City Council votes don’t come much easier than Monday’s agenda item to approve a Community Partnership with Loving Our Community’s Children (LOCC).  With a mission statement to “partner with the community to provide children and families with reliable, no-cost support that meets daily needs and fosters dignity, stability, and healing” and record of success…this was […]