News

Actions

Proposal to revamp charter on Tuesday’s agenda

Posted at 5:32 PM, Jul 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-05 18:32:38-04

An ordinance that outlines a proposed change to Lafayette government is on the City-Parish Council agenda for Tuesday.

The ordinance is up for introduction. If it is introduced, it could be approved as early as July 24. If it is approved by voters, the changes would begin with the election of a new City Council and a new Parish Council during the general elections next fall, with the councils taking office in January 2020. 

The ordinance would: 

  • Reverse the "consolidation" that happened 20 years ago and abolish the City-Parish Council. It is place would be a City Council and a Parish Council – which is what was in place prior to the "consolidation."
  • Abolish the Lafayette Public Utilities Authority and make the City Council the governing authority of the Lafayette Utilities System. 
  • Allow the current mayor-president and the current city-parish council members to run for any of the created positions. It also would re-start the term limit clock on any position they obtained in the new government. It also maintains the current salary of City-Parish Council members of nearly $31,000 annually for every council member. 
  • Abolish the Lafayette City-Parish Planning and Zoning Commission, and replace it with a City Planning and Zoning Commission and a Parish Planning and Zoning Commission. 
  • Revise the nomination process for the Lafayette Municipal Civil Service Board to match the other changes. 
  • Set up a process for voters to approve or reject proposals based on the subject matter: City voters would vote on city matters; parish voters would vote on parish matters, and all voters would vote on joint matters. 
  • The two councils would act jointing for some business: hiring an auditor, setting salaries for employees, approval of the budget, etc. 

To read the proposal, and to see the proposed districts, see below: 

Here’s the map: