Opinion by B. Charles Goodwin
At the last St. Tammany Parish Council Meeting, there was a concern expressed about low voter turnout. I’d like to offer an opinion on why that might be.
First is the frustration that the public’s vote really doesn’t make much difference. A Jail and Justice tax was voted down twice; the Parish, with a simple ‘stroke of a pen’, requires a third vote. Wearing down the public seems to be the method of operation.
Plus, the public is given conflicting information like the Jail and Justice Center Parish Pie Chart using numbers different or non-existent than those in the budget.
Plus, the 272-page parish budget refers to “allocations”, “interfund charges” and “transfers out” that alarmingly appear to make their way to the general fund, which gets half of its funds from “interfund transfers”. These were previously referred to as “Parish Administration” but now seem camouflaged as “interfund transfers”.
Plus, the council chair’s sheer pettiness of cutting off a speaker’s microphone without letting the speaker finish their sentence, especially while the speaker is responding to a council member’s question. Apparently, common courtesy is simply out of the question (except when asking for more taxes/money).
Plus, the outright refusal to allow a citizen to address items not on the agenda, even if input is limited to, say, 3 mins./ person or 10 mins./ meeting. While 10 minutes can’t be spared to increase public participation, there’s no reluctance to ask for more taxes or reelection votes.
Plus, the Administration breaking the Public Records Request laws such as refusing to provide records that “can be used in litigation,” and WORSE is the Administration’s own emails describing how NOT to provide requested information in the Terri Stevens case.
Plus, Pat Brister’s unforgivable refusal to settle a simple request to keep septic off personal property from a parish drainage error, with Pat Brister’s attorney recorded as saying “this case would have been settled long ago if it were not for personal animosity towards Stevens.” Wow. Double Wow. What good is a vote for a parish president like this when there is no viable alternative? Tax dollars are spent to satisfy Brister’s personal vendettas! She should resign.
Plus, the perennially elected council folks provided the voters a “term limits” option with wording so convoluted that it essentially amounted to a lifetime term for existing perennials.
Plus, in this budget crisis, proposing to spend $75k on a bike rental study to justify spending $1 million to provide rental bikes, versus, if one wants to ride a bike on the Trace, just bring your own bike, as we’ve done for decades.
Plus, in this budget crisis, the administration’s legal staff growing from 2 to 18. Can’t some of this money to pet lawyers be used to offset some Justice Center taxes, along with other belt-tightening? This is PART of why there is low voter turnout. – B. Charles Goodwin, Mandeville
Editor’s Note: The dismal current scenario that parish administration faces is reminiscent of the days when there was an effort to recall the entire council and the parish president, for basically the same reasons Goodwin lists. The dissolution of the Economic Development Foundation as opposed to answering simple questions about the said organization only leaves more questions. One would think that if legislation was written to change an organization of that magnitude on a parish level, the parish would have an official statement about such an action. Instead, rumors abound that “fake news” agencies misrepresent “facts” and report “confidential information”. Thank you for understanding the difference.
– Timothy Achan Gates, CW Correspondent
