Monday, Feb. 20
February 20, 2012
Who’s Your Buddy?
February 22, 2012The Lafourche Parish Council, one week after granting a $100,000 transfer to rescue a mishandled community aid program, agreed to turn over weatherization operations to the St. Mary Parish Office of Community Action.
St. Mary Parish will charge $10,500 for the services, which includes completing the weatherization of 14 homes remaining from a 2008 contract the parish secured through a presidential stimulus package.
The remainder of the transfer, or $89,500, will be returned to the parish’s autonomous royalty fund, Parish President Charlotte Randolph said.
The council approved the move by an 8 to 1 vote. Daniel Lorraine was the only dissent, and offered a usual refrain expressing skepticism with the strategy and calling for accountability. “Something doesn’t sound right to me,” he said.
According to Randolph, delegating authority over the completion of the remaining homes is the right choice because St. Mary Parish has experienced workers. It will reduce the parish’s cost in terms of training employees or hiring contractors.
The St. Mary office will charge $750 per home as an administrative cost.
Almetra Franklin, CEO of St. Mary Community Action Agency, said the program would be returned to Lafourche once the work is complete and it is on solid footing. “We come in as a partner,” she said.
St. Mary Parish also handles weatherization for Vermillion Parish, Franklin said, and is in negotiation with Iberia, St. Martin, Lafayette and Acadia parishes.
Crystal Chiasson, parish administrator, said state officials recommended that Lafourche delegate control. She said there is “no risk” that future expenses on the 14 homes would be disallowed.
“It’s a win-win for the parish,” Councilman Jerry Jones said.
The future of Lafourche weatherization, and Community Action, in general, has been the primary talking point as the parish administration has haggled with the council over additional funds since December.
As part of a 108-home agreement, the parish received $822,799 in federal funds earmarked for weatherization in 2008, Randolph said in a January presentation to the council.
The administration requested the supplement in order to finish 14 homes after expenses ineligible for reimbursement were made.
All told, about $150,000 in expenses wouldn’t be reimbursed, Randolph said while reporting the financial findings of a Department of Finance audit.
The errors included mostly money spent on salaries, non-production and training costs and sick, vacation and holiday pay that were not eligible for state reimbursement, Randolph said.
The parish spends its own money to weatherize homes and files a reimbursement request with the state, which funnels the federal money down, upon completion of each unit.
The parish-run program was broke and a failure to uphold its end of the 2008 contract would ruin the parish’s chances to receive further federal and state community-action aid, Randolph said.
Weatherization is a home-modification program that fits homes to keep the dwellings warm in the winter and cold in the summer in order to increase energy efficiency. The typical weatherization applicant spends 20 percent of his or her annual income on energy bills, Randolph said.
