Parish Council sets date for charter election

By BILL DECKER
bdecker@daily-review.com
FRANKLIN — The St. Mary Parish Council on Wednesday called for a Nov. 3 election on a set of parish charter revisions developed by a specially appointed commission.
The resolution calling for the election passed unanimously without discussion. But debate, inside the council or outside, seems sure to follow.
The council appointed the Charter Review Commission in 2024, knowing that council members would have to vote up or down on the entire package of revisions without altering them.
In December, after 17 months of deliberations, the commission chaired by Betty Hicks submitted proposed revisions including:
•Updating the council and parish president compensation to reflect current duties, with cost-of-living adjustments every four years.
•Eliminating the three at-large council districts from which representatives are elected through a parishwide vote.
•Limits of 1-1/2 consecutive terms for both the council and the parish president.
•Designating the parish president as chief executive and administrative officer, eliminating the separate chief administrative officer position.
•Clarifying procedures for vacancies, meetings and publications of ordinances.
•Removing obsolete or redundant sections, including outdated ballot and district provisions.
The Parish Council adopted an ordinance acknowledging receipt of the commission’s work in January and passed a resolution to set the election for June 27. But in March, the council approved a resolution submitted by Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick that rescinded the earlier resolution.
June 27 is a federal election runoff date in the new closed primaries this year. Hebert argued that if no federal offices require a runoff, the parish would be stuck with an $80,000 bill for the June 27 election. With a guaranteed federal election date like Nov. 3, the parish would have to pay only $15,000.
Rumbling from both the commission and Parish Council side followed, on and off the record.
On the commission side, members have disputed Hebert’s election cost figures. There have also been accusations that the Parish Council violated a state law requiring the amendments to be put before voters on the first available election 60 days after the proposed new charter is published.
A parish government legal ad indicates that the ordinance acknowledging the commission’s work was submitted to Parish President Sam Jones on Jan. 16. The state election calendar has dates of June 27, Nov. 3 and Dec. 12 that could conceivably have met state deadlines.
Parish Council members have expressed doubt about the all-or-nothing nature of the election, saying some voters might like some of the proposed changes but not others. There has been talk about submitting the charter revision proposals as separate items alongside the full commission proposition, giving voters a chance to reject the all-or-nothing proposal and pick the items that they like.
Others have talked about the financial demands of updated president and council salaries.
In any case, the amended charter must win approval from the State Bond Commission before it goes on the ballot.
Hebert said after Wednesday’s meeting that he has doubts about whether the ordinance accepting the Charter Review Commission’s work is still valid. He said he is seeking an answer from legal counsel for the State Bond Commission.