Moody has no regrets about going back to work

Retired educator Rusty Moody has no regrets about deciding to go back to work -- as mayor of Eunice. And the feeling seems mutual with his constituents, as he drew no opposition to his candidacy for a second term.
“I look forward to coming to work every day,” Moody reflected during a interview squeezed between other appointments on a recent afternoon.
Looking back on four years, he labeled his most-satisfying accomplishment a re-establishment of decorum in the city government process.
“The council and the administration get along well, as opposed to what it was in the four years prior,” Moody noted. “The council members and I don’t agree on every matter, but we work out the differences,” he said.
He said the key to that change has been a return to communication between the two branches of government. “We talk on a regular basis,” he said, noting he and the others are ever mindful to legal restrictions on when, where and how many of them can talk at once.
As if on cue, out-going Ward 3 Councilman James Bergeron was waved in by Moody. Bergeron said he thought the number one achievement of the past four years is “the way citizens look at us. We’re no longer a laughing stock. And people can get needed help when they come to us,” he said.
“There’s an overall respect for each other and for each other’s responsibility. The demeanor has changed,” Moody said.
Looking ahead, he sees the biggest issue to be one that has been a constant in his first four years -- though the budget hovers around $15 million, money is tight.
“There are things that need to be done, but can’t be without major investment or new recurring revenues,” he said.
The challenge of city officials, he said, is to govern in such a manner as to convince citizens to pay for things citizens want.
“People want services, but they cost money,” Moody said.
At the top of his list, are major infrastructure needs -- gas and sewer line replacement, lift stations, subsurface drainage, major street improvements.
Many communities have upgraded such items with revenue from bond issues secured by dedicated tax revenues, or with tax revenues themselves.
Eunice’s property tax millage is significantly lower than that of other cities in the vicinity, but Moody doesn’t perceive residents here yet ready to buy into and finance a major improvements program.
The city’s General Alimony tax of 6.77 mills will yield about $400,000 in the annual collection this month. The five-mill street tax will provide a bit under $300,000.
The good news on the financial side is that the city is essentially debt-free, having retired recreation bonds early back in September.
The rec program overall is in good shape, he thinks. He and others are studying the possibility of adding a water park feature at the Sittig Road complex.
“It would be free to users, but would be relatively cheap and safe,” he noted.
Many citizens talk about a facility for a Recreation Department basketball program, but building a fieldhouse is pretty much out of the question, the mayor said.
At the top of Moody’s action list right now is getting the Guillory Development Center-OMV project completed.
It is essentially ready for occupancy but negotiations continue with Williams Gas relative to road/parking lot construction.
That project began more than two years ago, after Dist. 41 State Representative Mickey Guillory secured the state’s transfer of the facility to the city.
Incidentally, Guillory is term-limited and his seat will be open in next fall’s election causing some to speculate Moody might join the field of candidates already forming.
“No way,” he said, adding, “I have the job I want.”