AMITE, La. (AP) Tangipahoa Parish President Gordon Burgess has submitted a $44.8 million budget proposal for 2014.

In a letter to Parish Council members, Burgess said Tangipahoa’s finances are fundamentally sound.

He said the parish will continue to provide services to citizens without having to raise taxes.

The draft budget projects spending of about $10.5 million from the general fund, which pays for operations of District Court, the district attorney’s office, public buildings, the coroner’s office, the jail and other operations.

Improvements to roads and bridges account for about 34 percent of total projected expenditures.

The proposal projects about $4.4 million in sales tax revenue in the coming year, with property taxes bringing in about $1.2 million.

Federal grants, reimbursements and revenue from permits, licenses, commissions and other sources make up the remaining revenue sources.

Burgess said in the preface to the budget proposal that more than $9 million was spent improving roads and bridges during the past year.

He expects spending about $4 million on road overlays in 2014.

And he cited completion of work at the parish landfill as a major accomplishment in 2013.

Burgess added that subsurface drainage and widening of Club Deluxe from Morrison Boulevard to U.S. Highway 51 would be a priority in the fiscal year that starts Jan. 1.

The parish also expects to complete construction projects at the Florida Parishes Arena and the new Environmental Services Facility in Hammond, he said.

The parish charter requires final approval of the budget for the next fiscal year no later than December.

Today's top stories

New Bridges Part of Iowa's $114M Madison Avenue Project

Eagle Bridge Co. Works On Final Leg of U.S. 35 Upgrade

Fay Preps Way for Pittsburgh International Airport Modernization Project

SAKAI Achieves Record Sales, Production

Takeuchi Recognizes Top Dealers at 2024 Dealer Summit

Tennessee's Pugmill Systems LLC Expands Its Product Offerings to Include Concrete Plants

ASCENDUM Machinery Opens New Savannah, Ga., Facility

FEMA Repaying Vermont $22M for Cleanup Costs Due to July 2023 Floods