Lafourche council defers hiring auditor

The Lafourche Parish Council opted not to fill the newly created legislative auditor position last week and instead voted to defer the decision indefinitely.

After a lengthy discussion, a withdrawal of a motion to defer the vote, the substitution of a new motion to defer and a consultation of the council’s book on governing procedures, the lawmakers voted 5-4 to postpone the vote until “deemed necessary by the majority of the council.”

“An internal auditor was not intended for Lafourche Parish at this size – Lafourche Parish is not big enough for this,” said Aaron Caillouet, who crafted the resolution from the floor after first-year Councilman John Arnold first chose to pull an identical measure he had on the agenda.

The position, which would answer to councilmen, has sparked debate since funding was set aside late last year to pay for an auditor’s salary.

Daniel Lorraine, a longtime critic of Parish President Charlotte Randolph, has spearheaded the project and contends the auditor would give the council a much-needed ally that could review items and report to the council as desired by the lawmakers.

Opponents insist the finance department is capable and willing to handle inquiries so long as the inquiries are presented, and they suggest the auditor would be used to undercut Randolph and her administration.

The parish’s Home Rule Charter grants the council authority to create the position.

The council approved dedicating $78,500 toward the position last year through a budget amendment. Early this year, the body chose to advertise the position and formed a three-man committee to cull resumes and rank candidates. After two meetings, the committee chose Tommy Lasseigne, who failed in his bid for parish president last October.

Lorraine said the council has gone through the proper channels and said further delay “doesn’t make sense.”

“We did it the right way,” Lorraine said. “We took it step by step. We did exactly what we were supposed to do.”

After the meeting, Lorraine said he would continue to try to fill the position. “I’m not going to let it die.”

The budget amendment merely approved funding the position, and the resolution would have appointed someone to the position. Even if the slot is filled, the council could abolish the funding late this year when the 2013 parish budget is adopted.

Caillouet said he voted to defer the measure because he didn’t want to vote on Lasseigne’s merits. The councilman said he would have voted in favor of Lasseigne had the measure not been postponed.

Councilman Lindel Toups was passionate in his yearning for an auditor who could review the millages and finances of all parish boards and commissions. Toups, the chairman of a committee tasked with funding and constructing a new jail in Lafourche, has expressed interest in using excess revenue toward funding a new detention center.

“I’m not after Mrs. Charlotte,” Toups said, alluding to the political firestorm that has engulfed the role.

Toups also said the results of a recent in-house audit of the parish’s weatherization program were never relinquished to the council. Instead, Randolph presented the findings before the lawmakers, and the lack of transparency calls for the position.

Finance Director Ryan Friedlander engaged in the debate in support of his staff, saying the department is capable of addressing issues the council brings forward. He said the department has begun reviewing the parish’s boards and commissions and suggested that task could be complete well before the year is over.

Toups was undeterred and – along with Arnold, Jerry Lafont and Lorraine – voted against deferring the vote.

Arnold, one of three first-term councilmen, was visibly frustrated, squirming in his seat before and after pulling his resolution from the agenda.

“I’m tired of messing with this,” Arnold said. “What we need to do right now is quit bickering and bellowing … Let’s get to it (and vote).”