Thursday, Dec. 9
December 9, 2010
Morris Williams Sr.
December 13, 2010
The Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority Board of Commissioners has authorized Executive Director Wayne Thibodeaux to schedule a meeting with top Terrebonne Parish government leaders, during which they intend to issue complaints over having to pay service fees for utilities, trash removal, general street maintenance, fire department services and police protection at the Bayou Towers and Senator Circle public housing properties in Houma.
“We have to plead and beg for any services we get,” Thibodeaux said regarding what he and board members have alleged is a lack of provided assistance. He also complained about fees that the parish government has issued the housing authority, including bills totaling $959.28 for sewer line cleaning between August and November, being charged approximately $345 per month for the reading of electric meters, and facing a $100,000 bill for sidewalk repairs, which he charged is in violation of agreements made when the housing authority was established in the 1960s.
Board members contend that the parish has a legal obligation to provide their residents the same services that citizens in other neighborhoods receive without having to incur specific charges for those public works each time they are used. “They are not treating us as [part] of the parish,” Commissioner Chester Dillard said.
Board members also argue that the fight over services with the parish government dates back as far as any of them can remember and is not limited to the current administration.
According to obtained documentation, the housing authority and the City of Houma entered into a cooperation agreement on Jan. 11, 1966. At that time, when federal public housing was being established in the area, the contract specified that the municipal government would not issue a levy or impose any real or personal property taxes or special assessment on the Housing Authority for the providing of standard services that are available to the rest of the community.
In exchange, the housing authority was required to make annual payments, based on a formula in accordance with the number of units rented, to the local government, which would be considered compensation in lieu of taxes for public services, and without other costs or charges issued for special projects.
As years passed, modifications from the original government structure and practices by the Housing Authority changed as well to the extent that a working relationship began to differ in routine from the original cooperation agreement.
Board members said that their relationship with local government began to change after the City of Houma and the Terrebonne Parish governments consolidated in 1984.
It was also found, and confirmed by both Thibodeaux and parish government attorney Courtney Alcock that the housing authority has received waivers, approved by multiple parish councils, that released it from making the agreed payments in lieu if taxes for approximately the past 15 to 20 years.
Thibodeaux confirmed that the housing authority has received waivers to the payment for services since at least 1996, and possibly earlier. The current parish council waived a 2010 payment, which would have amounted to approximately $52,000.
Thibodeaux said that parish government is operating in violation to the 1966 cooperation agreement. But he also admitted that the housing authority has not made payments in lieu of taxes, as specified with the original agreement, and based on Terrebonne Parish Council approval.
“To me, it is either a refusal or failure to understand the process and obligations to the people that live in public housing,” Thibodeaux said.
Questions have also arisen as to if some contracts made by the City of Houma carried over as legally binding once the parish and municipality merged into a new, single government.
Alcock confirmed the existence of the cooperative agreement and past waivers issued by parish councils, but said she would have to research the matter further before being able to make a complete comment.
A sign designating the Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority Senator Circle neighborhood as being a federal government facility serves to add to a local conflict over who should pay for basic services such as access to utilities as well as police and fire protection. MIKE NIXON
