BATON ROUGE - Tuesday night, as Metro Council members passed the parish budget for 2025, some changes will almost certainly be coming with Sid Edwards coming in as Mayor-President.

While the council moved quickly, the city parish is facing a $40 million dollar shortfall a result of St. George being incorporated, which led to cuts across the board. With less than a month until a new mayor starts, some are curious what else could change.

A $50,000 contract increase for attorney Brett Furr stalled. Furr has represented the city-parish in negotiations with St. George, including owed revenue and setting an official incorporation date.

Council members Dwight Hudson and Cleve Dunn got in a heated conversation about the measure. Hudson wanted the contract approval date delayed until Mayor-President-elect Sid Edwards could have a say.

"I think with the incoming administration it's the wisest way to go. Let him evaluate the team that he wants to have represent negotiations in the future," Hudson said. "There's nothing to negotiate because when a new administration takes over, they may not agree to what was negotiated from the previous administration."

Dunn quipped back, suggesting the decision would leave East Baton Rouge without legal protection and “sabotage” the city-parish.

“You have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure that this parish is represented, not only in legal matters but in negotiations,” Dunn said. “I think it's negligent for you to come here and act as if you're representing your constituency when we know you're representing St. George.”

The measure passed with Hudson as the only dissenting vote.