At its March 10 meeting, the Monroe City Council heard some potential good news that could portend the disappearance of bad news it will have to deal with starting at its meeting this week – but it may also discover a whole new set of problems that will require foresight and discipline to manage.

At that last session, independent Mayor Friday Ellis revealed the city could be receiving a major economic development project. He asked for permission, which the Council granted, to sell the old Ouachita Candy Company riverfront property which the city bought a few years ago to a developer that would create a mixed-use complex.

The project builds upon the win down the road in Richland Parish with the snagging of Meta’s Hyperion Project, a data center that is forecast to pump $27 billion into the region at startup and continue generating hundreds of higher-paying jobs. Anecdotal reports are that the activity has pumped up lodging, entertainment, real estate, and general retail sales, and has triggered interest in the historic property, which Ellis said will retain its historic elements because of the tax credits involved and the complex will be built around it.

The boost in downtown development, reflecting the Meta activity, promises to further line city coffers, with that bonus already starting to be detected in year-over-year numbers. That provides a ray of sunshine to offset disappointing budget news.

According to the budget Ellis sent to the Council, which was covered in budget meetings a week earlier, the city is facing a nearly million-dollar deficit, which will drive the general fund balance to its lowest level since the start of Ellis’ first term in office. Even as revenues advanced three percent, expenses went up four percent.

Ellis noted increased costs came primarily from higher insurance premiums, fire department compensation hikes, and pouring more into repairs and maintenance of community centers, a priority of the majority Democrats on the Council. He declared that streamlining through reductions in force – 69 percent of the budget is in personnel expenses – would be pursued to balance the budget in the future.

Yet the good economic news could change all of this. The budget anticipates only a one percent jump in property tax revenues, which comprise about 11 percent of total revenues, and just three percent in sales taxes, which make up 63 percent. However, putting more property on the rolls, combined with more sales at prices above assessments from two years ago, and with sales tax revenues up 10 percent year-over-year, could generate as much as $5 million in revenue instead of a projected $1.4 million, padding the general fund nicely.

What’s more, the budget has Monroe Regional Airport losing $4.2 million. Yet because of Hyperion, MLU already has seen flights added and passenger volumes increase, so the passenger facility fee revenue could take a bite out of that deficit.

The larger question that remains is whether, if the bounty transpires, the Council later in the year will want to distribute it broadly. The Democrat majority has made no secret that it would like to spend more on city government, particularly on capital projects in their districts, which they describe as neglected areas of the city they represent. At the same time, Ellis has an ambitious capital program, Oneroe, that doesn’t entirely mesh with the majority’s agenda.

Normally, when a government lands some unexpected largesse, its elected officials become a big, happy family with bucks to go around for all. Taxpayers should hope that if this scenario plays out, the city still pursues its efficiency measures and thinks ahead with the bounty; for example, increased activity will mean greater needs for roads, their repairs, and traffic management. Now is not the time to splurge.