Commissioner Bruce Conque offered a PowerPoint presentation to his fellow commissioners outlining “in a broad brush stroke” a model for future governance in Lafayette Parish that is based loosely on the consolidated form of government that has been in place in Duval County, Fla., of which the city of Jacksonville is the county seat, for more than 40 years.
“Tonight, it is my intent to make an argument for an independent city of Lafayette government,” Conque said.
According to Conque’s model, the parish of Lafayette would be divided into seven political subdivisions, or services districts: one urban service district for each of the municipalities – Broussard, Carencro, Duson, Lafayette, Scott and Youngsville – and a seventh general service district for unincorporated Lafayette Parish. Each service district would have a council and mayor, as the smaller municipalities currently do, save for the service district comprising unincorporated Lafayette Parish, which would have only a council and no chief executive. According to Conque’s model, the general (unincorporated) services district would use intergovernmental agreements for its services and would not use a layered bureaucracy of departments; it could exist with as small a staff as the elected council and a few employees. Additionally, none of the smaller municipalities’ current forms of government would be affected by the change to services districts, which is more or less a alternative way of saying “municipal boundaries.”
But the former District 6 City-Parish Councilman was quick to note that the model he proposes doesn’t necessarily require a repeal of the current Lafayette Home Rule Charter.
“No, this is not a call for deconsolidation,” Conque stressed. “You can’t undo what does not exist. There is no consolidation of governments in Lafayette Parish.”
Conque pointed to the sovereignty of the smaller municipalities in making his case that Lafayette (Parish) Consolidated Government is not, nor has it ever been, truly consolidated. Moreover, Conque noted, the accounting books for the city and parish of Lafayette are also separate. The only municipality in the parish that does not have complete control of its affairs is the largest – Lafayette.
“I’m certainly open to other options,” Conque acknowledged. “However, my priority will always be an independent government for the city of Lafayette. Give the citizens of Lafayette equal status with those who reside in Broussard, Carencro, Duson, Scott and Youngsville. Give us our own council and mayor.”
JUNE 16 This story in the Advocate tells us that the state Department of Education is taking a look at the Course Choice program. They're doing that because the legislature (probably responding to reporting by Tom Aswell, who does not work for the Advocate) ordered them to make sure that these private companies aren't signing six-year-olds up for high school Latin classes without their parents' knowledge or consent.
JUNE 17 Columnist James Gill writes about the recent complaint of death row inmates at Angola: it's hot as you-know-what in their cells, with the heat index topping 120 for months. Since we're not executing people anymore (Gill opines) then we should probably officially end the practice of putting people on death row. The prisoners, by the way, are not asking for cool breezes: they only ask for clean water and a temp that doesn't top 88.
JUNE 17 Here's blogger Ian McGibboney's take on the Baton Rouge plan to give bus tickets to homeless people who have a home with family who live far away. Taken from one point of view, it could be a good solution for some people. But McGibboney raises some good points here, including this one: Why not improve opportunities for everybody in Baton Rouge so these people can find the jobs they came to BR for?
JUNE 17 Picayune columnist Jarvis DeBerry talks here about the Zimmerman trial, but the real topic is the concept of a black man being more dangerous, somehow, than a white man in a fight. It is an interesting discussion, and one that may enlighten people who think that racism doesn't exist because nobody's keeping black folks from eating at the Woolworth lunch counter.
JUNE 17 Here's an interesting column from Baton Rouge Business Report's publisher, Rolfe McCollister, about anger against the government. It's brewing because of recent revelations about the IRS and the GSA, he says. It's readable, not just for the subject, but because of McCollister's collection of sources: Huffington Post, National Review and Wikipedia. That's a combo you don't see every day.
JUNE 17 In this American Press post, Jim Beam talks about the high school diploma track that lets kids who aren't interested in university get what they want and need out of high school. The diplomas get kids ready for technical school, Beam explains, and then he goes on to give some of the numbers. Some of these numbers might really surprise people who think technical school is second best. And, Beam adds, a college diploma does not guarantee anybody a job.
JUNE 17 The Washington Post reports here that OSHA is going to investigate the explosion that occurred last week in Donaldsonville, shortly after the other fatal accident in Geismar. As soon as the site is safe, State Police will be pulling out of the Donaldsonville plant to make way for OSHA investigators, the story reports. (Hey, here's an idea: why don't they go a couple miles down the road and figure out what happened when that massive sinkhole started sucking up land.)
JUNE 17 Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board of Supervisors in this post, taking a look at the many ways board members have served Gov. Jindal and not their university or their students. The board members are esteemed members of their fields, but can't seem to do anything but say "yes" to Jindal, regardless of the cost to LSU, Mann opines.
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