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January 20, 2015
The Lafourche Parish Council ratified new bylaws recommended by the Community Action Advisory Board for the Community Action Agency at last Tuesday’s meeting, however some of the bylaws are not legal, according to state statutes.
Councilman Jerry Jones, who serves as Community Action president, said the Community Action Advisory Board has 30 days to correct the bylaws. That, he said, it will do at its next advisory board meeting Monday.
“The state gave us kudos for having them pretty much in order,” Jones said.
The Lafourche Parish Council also rescinded its 2005 ratification of new Community Action bylaws.
Jones and Paul Chiquet, Community Action Bylaws Committee chairman and Community Action treasurer, claim these actions return the bylaws to their pre-2005 status.
Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph claims the organization is not governed by bylaws until the amended version is approved.
The earliest Lafourche Parish would be able to implement its corrected Community Action bylaws would be mid-February, according to the parish president.
“It needs to be corrected in 30 days, and we’re going to correct it in 30 days,” said District 9 Councilman Daniel Lorraine.
Among the bylaws that need to be changed, include removing a human resource position, deleting the job description for the director, changing the word “alternate” to “representative,” removing a statement that the advisory board needs to have a voice from the private sector and delegating powers to the advisory board that it cannot have.
“State law does not allow the governing board to delegate responsibilities to the Community Action Advisory Board as the Community Action Advisory Board only have advisory powers,” Randolph said, reading a statement the administration received from the state regarding.
According to Chiquet, the goal of adoption new bylaws is to take the governing authority of Community Action from the parish administration and place it with the parish council per recommendations from the Community Action Advisory Board.
