Brusly went to the state for help covering cost overruns on its sewer project. The state's paperwork came back approving far more than the town asked for. According to the town's engineer, state officials now say Brusly can keep the difference.

The extra money totals $573,880.19. Town Engineer Toby Fruge told the Brusly Town Council about it at its Sept. 14 meeting. The item wasn't on the agenda, and the council took no vote on it. Fruge raised it during the monthly public works report.

The money comes from Louisiana's Water Sector Program, which the state created in 2021 with federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars. State program documents say every dollar must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.

With that deadline approaching, some projects around the state can't spend their money in time. Rather than send unspent dollars back to the federal government, Fruge said, the state has been contacting local governments that still have grant balances. It is offering to pay those balances out as a lump sum.

That's how Brusly found out about its balance.

Fruge said the town had asked the program for an increase of about $600,000 to cover bid overages. When the approval came through, he said, the paperwork showed roughly $1.15 million.

"I didn't think that money was real," Fruge told the council. "I thought it was just a typo on the form."

Fruge said the state now considers the approval legally binding.

What the money can pay for

The money comes with conditions. The town has to deposit it in a separate account. It can only be spent on the project's original scope, with no change orders and no new projects. A change order is a request to change a contract's price or scope. Because the lump sum carries no local match requirement, Fruge said, the town can use it to reimburse itself for engineering costs it already paid.

The town also has to sign an agreement accepting the state's terms.

"If you get audited, you know, good luck," Fruge said.

The town has opened the separate account, and the money has been deposited, officials said at the meeting.

One repair left

As of Sept. 14, one piece of the sewer project was still open. One of the aerators at the treatment facility broke because of a bad impeller. After crews replaced the impeller, the unit still wouldn't start, and they found an electrical problem. The repair was waiting on new electrical lines, which were expected within a week or two.

Until that repair is done, the town is holding back $225,881 in retainage. Retainage is money the town withholds from a contractor until the job is finished. The windfall can be used to pay that retainage once the work is complete.

Fruge estimated that about $300,000 would be left after that, to reimburse the town for design fees. By WBR Independent's calculation, subtracting the retainage from the full balance leaves about $348,000.