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October 18, 2016
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
October 18, 2016
While many departments in Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government are feeling the crunch of tighter budgets, one could see a large influx of money next year.
In Terrebonne Parish’s proposed 2017 budget, the parish is expecting to pay $500,000 for its general legal services. The figure represents a 178 percent increase from the $180,000 it originally budgeted for 2016.
The number stuck out enough for the parish council to have a lengthy discussion on the increase during its Budget and Finance Committee meeting on Oct. 3. Councilman Gerald Michel, who has dedicated much of his first year to expressing concern over the parish’s finances, said the large increase warranted public discussion.
“It just is a red flag. It just went up so much. And it could be any number of things – a whole new administration, a new council – it could be a number of things that would justify it. But I would hope that maybe in 2017, the numbers could be closer to 2015 than what’s being proposed here,” Michel said.
Parish President Gordon Dove offered some insight into the budgetary jump for the legal team. He said he asked Parish Attorney Jules Hebert, whom he appointed upon taking office in January, to review every agreement the parish had.
While the parish originally budgeted for $180,000 in 2016 general legal costs, it is currently on pace to spend more than $850,000 this year. Dove said Parish Chief Financial Officer Kandace Mauldin was in charge of estimating the legal costs and presented the numbers to him.
“Those numbers are not my numbers and [Mauldin] can attest to that. That’s the exact number she brought to me. I did not change them. I did not touch them. But Mr. Hebert has done a lot of work and his team has. We’ve had a lot settled,” Dove said.
When compared to those updated 2016 costs, the 2017 budget for legal services does not look as drastic. As Michel pointed out during the committee meeting, the parish has spent similar figures in recent years. In 2013, it spent $845,000 in total legal services, which combines general and litigation. That figure jumped to $1.1 million in 2014 but dropped drastically to about $604,000 in 2015, once the $2.38 million in BP settlement expenditures are removed. While 2015 represents an unusually low year, this year’s total of $909,000 is in line with recent years, including 2016’s projected total of almost $1.2 million.
At the committee meeting, Hebert said while he was not familiar with the budget, he is not in control of the workload as far as litigation, legal opinions, ordinances and condemnations his department will face.
“If it’s not done according to law, somebody’s responsible for it. And I feel like the legal department has done a good job this year. We’ve took on some complex things, and I think I’ve saved the government some money in a number of areas,” Hebert said.
Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove said he had Parish Attorney Jules Hebert overlook every parish parish agreement this year. According to Dove, this helps explain the rising costs in the legal services budget for 2017.
