Cats are back; Parish Council considers committee to examine ordinance

FRANKLIN — Once more, the St. Mary Parish Council’s attention turned to stray animals Wednesday.
The council is considering the creation of a committee, possibly including representatives of the Sheriff’s Office and animal rights groups, to study improvements to the ordinance.
Also Wednesday, a councilman introduced two ordinances that would let voters decide whether to amend the home rule charter with an eye toward increasing minority representation.
The council also passed resolutions honoring Alfred Manson, who died May 11, and Jimmy Broussard, who is retiring as the parish’s homeland security and emergency preparedness director.
The council was introduced to Broussard’s successor, Sheriff’s Office Capt. Ross Mire.
Stray animals
On March 11, the Parish Council followed the lead of Berwick and Morgan City by passing an ordinance prohibiting people from setting out food for stray cats and dogs on publicly accessible property. The parish ordinance cites health risks.
Much of the previous discussion in the municipalities centered on an expanding population of stray cats, the mess and damage they create on or in vehicles, the spread of fleas, and even an attack on a Berwick woman.
But Amelia resident Janet Aucoin told the council Wednesday that the parish ordinance lacks important information, including protocols about how to file a complaint, what evidence is needed or what recourse is available to those who have sustained damage.
Aucoin asked for a long list of improvements, including a clear enforcement protocol that directs complaints to the proper agency, tracking complaints, setting out an escalating penalty structure for subsequent violations, creating a pathway for court referrals so residents can seek reimbursement for damage, and publishing evidence requirements so residents know how to document complaints.
“Residents should not have to navigate a maze of agencies just to protect their homes, property and health,” Aucoin said.
Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick suggested a committee to study changes to the ordinance. Council Chairwoman Gwendolyn Hidalgo asked for a resolution creating the committee for the June 10 council meeting.
Ordinances
Councilman J Ina of Franklin has long criticized the current council setup because it has only two districts with Black majorities likely to elect a Black council member. Ina and the Rev. Craig Mathews of Jeanerette represent those districts and are the only African Americans on the 11-member council, although Blacks make up about a third of the parish’s population.
None of Ina’s legislative efforts to increase minority representation succeeded. But he resurrected two of them for introduction as proposed charter amendment ordinances Wednesday.
One would limit voting in the three at-large districts to residents of those districts. Currently, the three at-large members are each elected by parishwide votes. Limiting voting to district residents would give District 9 in western St. Mary a Black voting majority.
The second ordinance would let voters decide whether to open the council chairmanship and vice chairmanship to any council member. The charter now limits the leadership posts to members elected from the at-large districts.
The ordinances would have to be passed by the council and then by voters. Ina said after the meeting that his proposals would not go on the ballot until after the Nov. 3 election, which includes the proposals developed by the Charter Review Commission.
One of the commission’s proposals is to eliminate the three at-large districts, leaving an eight-member council.
Resolutions
The council gave a standing ovation to Broussard after passing the resolution in his honor.
Broussard’s tenure as homeland security director follows 28 years with the National Guard, where he retired as a lieutenant colonel; 30 years with the Franklin Police Department, during which he achieved the rank of captain; and 12 years with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office.
His replacement will be Mire, whom Parish President Sam Jones described as “very committed, very qualified, and we won’t miss a beat.”
“I’m very dedicated to this,” Mire said. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”
Manson, 82, worked for the St. Mary Sugar Mill and then the Iberia Medical Center until he retired. But he paused his retirement to work at the then-new West St. Mary Civic Center.