Councilman Toups undergoes surgery, cancer spreads
November 5, 2014
Small battle has big local consequences
November 5, 2014
Terrebonne Parish finalized its decision in naming Venita Chauvin as the new council clerk.
Chauvin has worked in government for 32 years, making her start with the city government in 1983 and then jumping to the parish government in 1989.
“In my opinion, that makes her qualified. When the council clerk had to step out, she became the council clerk,” Councilman Danny Babin said. “It is a roll of ascension to an extent.”
Councilman Russell Hornsby said just because someone has experience doesn’t necessarily make them the most qualified, however in this case, it was a no brainer.
“She was highly recommended by the people she worked for,” Hornsby said. “Just because someone has worked somewhere for a long period of time that they should automatically be moved to a higher position. Other criteria should be taken into consideration. She was the obvious choice to me.”
The council clerk processes the ordinances from the council meetings and sends out letters to those impacted by the ordinances to ensure they understand what steps need to be taken to implement those actions.
“I am happy that they feel I can handle it,” Chauvin said.
The clerkship has been vacant for the past few weeks after Charlotte Poche’ retired because of confusion with policies regarding selecting a council clerk.
“We need to develop policies and procedures so that in the future all council members know the process of selecting people for the council positions,” Hornsby said. “I think the best way would be to advertise for the positions, then choose a committee to vet the applicants and bring the top three or so candidates before the council for consideration.”
The council will explore ideas to make sure the process is easy for future councils.
In addition to Chauvin being named council clerk, Suzette Thomas was named assistant council clerk and Tammy Triggs was named senior minute clerk.
