These funds are largely special revenue funds derived from dedicated taxes and as such may be used only for designated purposes. Adjusted for inflation, expenditures increased by 14.3 percent between 1988 and 1997 and by 4.8 percent from 1995 through 1997. In fact, approximately 90 percent of the parish's general operating revenues are tied to specific functions leaving limited flexibility in redirecting parish spending priorities. The parish's general government expenditures are categorized by governmental function in Table 2. However, public works outlays made up 26.8 percent of 1995 general expenditures and decreased slightly in actual dollars between 1995 and 1997.
Public works includes garbage collection, drainage, road lighting, streets, and parkways.
About 43 percent of public works expenditures are for professional and technical services. As a percentage of general government spending, debt service costs decreased from 26 percent in 1988 to 20 percent of parish spending in 1997. As a result, the ratio of debt service to total general government expenditures has decreased from 11 percent in 1988 to 5 percent in 1997, well below the parish's bonding capacity. The parish's general government expenditures for the public safety function, which includes support for fire protection, ambulance services, emergency communication, juvenile services, and corrections, comprised 18 percent of 1997 outlays. Public safety expenditures increased 65 percent between 1988 and 1997 while total parish general spending increased by 50 percent.