Parish Council takes on payroll processing for districts; votes down traffic sign ordinance

FRANKLIN – The St. Mary Parish Council on Wednesday settled, at least for now, a pair of issues that had caused controversy.
The parish government will assume responsibility for payroll processing for special-purpose districts. But the council voted down an ordinance that would change the way decisions are made about the placement of traffic control devices.
Also Wednesday, council heard that parish government will receive a $1.68 million grant hazard mitigation grant through the state.

Payday
The parish administration has discussed assuming payroll processing duties and responsibilities for districts devoted to drainage, fire protection, waterworks and other purposes at the districts’ expense. On Wednesday, Parish President David Hanagriff described the move as a fraud prevention measure to prevent abuse.
“This is not meant to hurt a board,” Hanagriff said.
Some district officials objected to the costs originally proposed. Councilman James Bennett said the Consolidated Gravity District 2A in the Morgan City-Amelia area could have seen its cost for a two-week pay period go to $250 from $48 with the commercially available software the district has used .
The administration came back with a different formula Wednesday: $15 per employee per payroll for districts with up to five employees; $7.50 each for districts with six to 15 employees; and $5 each for districts with more than 20 employees.
Under that formula, for example, District 2A would pay the parish $4,680 for 26 payrolls.
Even with the new formula, Councilman Dean Adams objected, saying the payroll spending amounts to using district tax revenue on purposes other than those for which they were intended.
The measure passed 6-5. Voting for it were members Gwen Hidalgo, Patrick Hebert, Rodney Olander, J Ina, Craig Mathews and Scott Ramsey. Voting against were Adams, Bennett, Kristi Prejeant Rink, Les Rulf and Mark Duhon.

Stopped
The council voted down the proposal to require a report from the parish public works director before an ordinance making a traffic signal change could be introduced.
Ramsey, the bill’s author, had tried to have a handful of stop signs removed from the Saturn-Jupiter area of Bayou Vista. That move failed after opponents argued that the signs were needed to protect neighborhood residents, particularly children and the elderly.
Ramsey cited state and federal guidance that says stop signs are not a good way to control speed, and that too many stop signs lead to noncompliance by drivers. When his attempt to remove the signs failed, he talked about proposing an ordinance requiring an engineer’s report before make a traffic signal change.
He came back with the ordinance that was under consideration Wednesday, which he said would bring the parish in line with state law and protect the parish government from liability.
The ordinance would have required a report by the public works director, in consultation with a traffic engineer if necessary, before the introduction of any traffic signal ordinance. If the report finds the signal change to be appropriate and in agreement with the state handbook, the ordinance could be introduced.
A council member who disagrees with the report could seek a public hearing, after which a two-thirds council would be required to introduce the ordinance.
The super-majority requirement was a problem for Duhon and Hebert. An amendment to require only a simple majority passed unanimously, but the ordinance failed 6-3. Ramsey, Hebert and Ina were the yes votes. Duhon, Rink, Hidalgo, Adams, Bennett and Rulf voted against it. Olander and Mathews left the meeting before the vote because of prior commitments.

Grant
Chief Administrative Officer Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange announced that the parish will receive the grant through the state to support “recovery and mitigation projects … related to Hurricane Zeta, the severe winter weather event in 2021, the May 2021 flooding event and Hurricane Ida," according to a press release from the Governor’s Office.
The money could be used for the elevation of homes, localized drainage improvements, saferoom construction, rebuilding or acquiring flood-prone structures, and converting land to green space.
“Hazard mitigation is the only phase of emergency management specifically dedicated to breaking the cycle of damage, reconstruction and repeat damage,” the press release said.