WASHINGTON, La. (KLFY) -- When Mayor Dwight Landreneau took office in 2020, the town of Washington faced being taken over by the state due to their financial hardship. Actually facing $750,000 in debt.

Now, after five years of work, the town is ready to begin a new chapter that is debt free.

"It's a big relief. The attitude that people have about Washington and the impression that they have about our little town has completely changed," Landreneau said. "The citizens of Washington say that now they have some hope."

But how does a small town overcome a three quarter of a million-dollar debt?

Along with taking a pay cut and working with the state to acquire much needed funding, Landreneau says it was a team effort and overhaul in the town, bringing in a new bookkeeper, accountant, and assistance from companies to bring in new sources of revenue.

"We changed some things in town. We changed the way we did business." he said. "We also have a council now. Volunteers had helped. We had barbecues. We had bake sales. We had garage sales to help pay off the debt and helped to fund some of the activities that we have in town."

Now, with that debt paid off, Landreneau says the work is still far from over as they begin the new chapter.

"It's a debt free chapter," Landreneau said. "But we still have to build up some reserve so that we can take care of emergency situations. But I think other things that that we're looking at is as important into becoming a main street city. And of course, we want to attract businesses to the town of Watford. So, there's just a lot of things still need to be done."

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