PARKS, La. (KLFY) The Parks mayor and the city council have been arguing about the village’s budget for months, unable to come to an agreement.

Tuesday evening, however, the council meeting was short and fast, less than 5 minutes. They were finally able to pass a budget, but the council members say they are not happy about it.

Council members told News Ten they haven’t accepted the mayor’s proposed budget because they want to know when the mayor spends more than $2,000 on a project. The mayor says under the Lawrason Act, he doesn’t have to provide that information.

This has been a conflict for months, preventing the budget from moving forward. 

Tuesday night, though, the budget was passed in about two minutes, and council members say they weren’t given a chance to oppose it.

A council member says when the meeting began, Mayor Kevin Kately made a motion to adopt the budget.
Another council member made a motion to accept it. 

They say immediately, the mayor then adjourned the meeting, and they were not given the opportunity to express their concerns. 

Mayor Kately says the council members have known this would be the first and only item on the agenda for days.

“They’ve been having this information since Friday. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. How you don’t know what you were approving when I read it right back, verbatim off the paperwork? That was the only thing that was on there,” Mayor Kately told News Ten.

With the budget now passed, some council members say they are going to do what it takes to undo it, even if that means getting state auditors involved.