Proposed ordinances call for votes on parish charter changes

As the newly appointed St. Mary Charter Review Commission goes to work on a new blueprint for parish government, the Parish Council may get a head start with proposed amendments for voters to consider Dec. 7.
Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick introduced 10 ordinances at Wednesday’s council meeting, each proposing a charter change for the Dec. 7 ballot.
While the Charter Review Commission is likely to consider big structural changes, possibly involving the powers of the parish president and minority representation, the amendments proposed in Wednesday’s ordinances are mostly to clean up language or remove conflicts with state law.
The ordinances could come to the council for public hearings and final votes at the next scheduled meeting Aug. 14.
The ordinances would:
--Require council members to be legally domiciled in the districts where they live for a year before they qualify to run. The current charter requires candidates to be voters in their districts but not that they have legal domiciles there.
--The charter currently says council members forfeit their offices if they lack the required qualifications, are convicted of state or federal felonies, or fails to take office. The amendment would add the catch-all phrase “otherwise disqualified by law from holding office.”
--When a council vacancy occurs, one of the ordinances would allow an interim appointee to serve the remainder of a term if it’s less than 18 months. If it’s more than 18 months, the seat must be filled with a special election. The charter currently says a vacancy appointee can serve up to a year, and that a vacancy lasting more than a year requires an election.
--Instead of being reimbursed for receipts related to travel outside the parish on government business, council members would be given a per diem at the rate set by the federal General Services Administration.
--Official acts of the council would have to be published within 20 days, rather than the current 30 days.
--The passage vote on proposed ordinances would have to come at least 20 days after the ordinance is published, not within 20 days after introduction as is the case now.
--As with council members, an ordinance adds “otherwise disqualified by law” to the reasons for which the parish president may be removed from office.
--Again, as with council members, a vacancy appointee for the parish presidency could serve up to 18 months of an unexpired term. A longer vacancy would require a special election.
--A proposed amendment would repeal the charter section 3-10A(8), that deals with the appointment of members to board, commissions and authorities, leaving the rules governing the process up to state law.
--Another proposed amendment would make it clear that after a construction project or means of financing a construction project has been rejected by voters, it can’t be placed on the ballot again for at least a year.