Mandeville Neighborhood Association

08/31/2026

The Mandeville City Council adopted a structurally balanced operating budget for the coming fiscal year Thursday, ending weeks of hearings that began with Councilman-at-Large Scott Discon insisting…

08/31/2026

Mayor Clay Madden filed a report with the Mandeville Police Department this month documenting a series of interactions with local businessman Robert “Trey” Berning III that Madden said had “escalat…

08/28/2026

Tonight, the City Council passed Mandeville’s FY 2026–27 Budget by a 4-1 vote.

Many thanks to Mayor Madden and his administration for presenting an incredibly sound and fiscally responsible budget. Their work made the Council’s job much easier this year.

The budget we passed is structurally balanced, meaning recurring revenues fully cover recurring operating expenses. After considerable discussion, the Council also approved a 2.8% cost-of-living increase for our police officers and City employees, while making a few minor adjustments elsewhere to ensure the budget remained structurally balanced with a small cushion.

Additionally, this budget is projected to result in an end of year General Fund Balance that exceeds the highest target set in my recently passed Resolution 26-25 by approximately 15%.

With this year’s budget behind us, I believe there are two important long-term structural issues we need to address:

1. Rising employee benefit costs. We need to explore responsible long-term changes that protect our current employees and their compensation, while allowing reforms to be phased in over time as new employees join the City WITHOUT affecting current City employees.

2. The continued overfunding of several restricted funds. Balancing the General Fund will become increasingly difficult as the costs of personnel, insurance, goods, and services continue to rise faster than recurring General Fund revenues, while some restricted funds continue to accumulate excess revenue year after year and balloon into excessive fund balances.

I believe we need to seriously consider restructuring how our sales tax revenues are allocated. Done properly, this could relieve pressure on the General Fund and potentially even reduce the overall tax burden on our citizens. This discussion is particularly urgent because all of the City’s sales taxes—which generate approximately 90% of City revenue—are scheduled to expire in the coming years and must go before the voters for renewal regardless.

Thank you again to Mayor Madden, his administration, and my fellow Council members for getting this year’s budget done. Most importantly, thank you to the people of Mandeville for the opportunity to serve you.

08/22/2026

A piece of land the state has held onto since the construction project on Highway 190 is finally moving into local hands. I authored Act 27, which transfers that property to the City of Mandeville, with plans to benefit the Lakewood Heights and Parc du Lac neighborhoods. Land that's sat unused for decades can now serve the people living around it.

08/07/2026

While some St. Tammany residents struggle with brown water, the City of Mandeville delivers award winning water quality! A testament to the management and leadership of the the City of Mandeville water utility.

08/03/2026

07/14/2026

A Monday Question?

Would a boutique hotel on Mandeville's lakefront or anywhere else within Mandeville city limits generate significant tax revenue?

The City of Mandeville does not have a hotel/motel tax. This means that any city sales tax assessed on a hotel’s room charge would be at the City’s 2.50% sales tax rate. Below are projections of revenue that would be generated by different size hotels.

A 50-room hotel would generate approximately $48,000 in annual tax revenue. A 500-room hotel would generate approximately $479,000. This would be taxes generated by room rentals. Additional taxes could be earned on bar/restaurant sales or special events. However, typically those sources are ancillary to occupancy tax collections.

07/03/2026

Heart breaking story about a hospital allegedly withholding information about sexual abuse of patients. The CEO of the hospital is Kim Ellender.

A lawsuit alleges St. Bernard Parish Hospital failed to notify a patient for more than a month after she was allegedly sexually battered by a doctor.