Relatively light agendas include a continued push to privatize local park facilities, another step towards building detention ponds to help with drainage, and approval of new sidewalks around some schools.
City Council
COLUMN: Why deconsolidation matters
Discussions around deconsolidating Lafayette Consolidated Government aren’t just the academic musings of the chattering class. They’re about making local government more responsive to its citizens.
8 min read
3/9 Council Preview: New detention ponds, approving a contentious development and appointing board members
Here’s a selection of items on the agendas for this week’s meetings of the city and parish councils.
4 min read
Link: Lafayette mask mandate likely dead on arrival
Would be co-sponsor Nanette Cook formally withdrew her support for an ordinance imposing a local mask mandate Tuesday. Unable to see a practical means of enforcement, she also cited mixed messages from unidentified “medical professionals” among her reasons for backing out.
Some 2,000 calls flooded the council office for and against the proposed ordinance, which The Current first reported last week. Misinformation about the what the local law would do has swarmed social media.
Glenn Lazard, who is in and out of treatment for leukemia, is pressing forward. But with Cook’s support, the ordinance won’t have a veto-proof voting block to carry it.
“I still have plans to go forward with it,” City Council member Glenn Lazard told the Advocate. “It’s the right thing to do and I’m still hopeful I will receive the necessary support to pass it
COLUMN: Will dysfunction continue to define LCG in 2021?
There’s a Cold War between the mayor-president and the City Council that could flare up at any time. The city faces a slew of controversial issues, while the parish’s finances continue to teeter on the brink of collapse, and consolidation is put on trial. These are the major stories I’ll be tracking at LCG this year.
8 min read
Link: Lafayette City Council to consider committee to explore deconsolidation, separate city mayor — The Advocate
City Councilman Pat Lewis will propose a resolution creating a committee to weigh the benefit of consolidation for the city of Lafayette. Called the “Protect the City Committee,” the group would evaluate the costs and limitations of Lafayette’s current form of government, which combines city and parish services and departments.
A 2018 parishwide vote created separate city and parish councils, Lafayette Consolidated Government’s current configuration, but kept administration functions consolidated under the mayor-president.
Mayor-President Josh Guillory supported deconsolidation as a candidate but has recently acknowledged flipping his position on the issue. Guillory and the City Council have been at frequent odds.
Council Preview 1/5 — Lafayette surveillance cameras, more CARES Act funding, conditional pay raises for city marshal’s office, board and commission seats
The gist: After a holiday hiatus, the work of consolidated government resumes with a pair of relatively light agendas. On tap: electing officers, budgeting CARES Act funding and getting answers on a surveillance camera contract awarded to a private firm without council approval.
6 min read
Guillory contracts private firm to deploy surveillance cameras; council out of the loop
The contract licenses Lafayette police to use the camera footage for “law enforcement purposes” only but appears to place no such restriction on the firm, which will own, maintain and operate the cameras — and the data it collects.
10 min read
Council Preview 12/2: More money for the Less Pay redevelopment, Downtown curfew for minors, revising the UDC
The gist: A relatively lightweight pair of council meetings is again on deck this week: another developer looking for more public subsidies, new grants for the police department, and the administration seeking to establish new restrictions on minors relative to their use of electric bikes and scooters and late-night access to Downtown. Bigger news is on the horizon, though, as […]
4 min read
Council Preview 11/18: A tax break, a city marshal, and four empty directors’ chairs
The gist: After the torrid pace of recent months, the agendas for both of this week’s council meetings are relatively light. There are some big discussion items to watch: redevelopment of the old federal courthouse and filling long-vacant director positions.
4 min read
COLUMN: The city of Lafayette is trapped in consolidated government
For the city to control its own affairs, this failed experiment in consolidation must end so our city can be free to govern itself.
6 min read
Council Preview 11/4: Parish taxes may be going up and down, a developer asks for a handout, Guillory pushes for symbolic funding for police and fire
The gist: A new .2% parishwide sales tax may be coming up for public vote to help fix the parish’s broken budget. The old federal courthouse developers don’t want to pay more in property taxes. Police and fire may get more money without actually getting more money. And the privatization of city and parish parks continues.
8 min read