The Daily Advertiser

There are a large and growing number of parish residents, including civic, religious, and business leaders, who will be voting “YES” on Dec. 8 to fix our charter by establishing separate councils for the City of Lafayette and Parish of Lafayette, while maintaining consolidation.

A majority of the community leaders who served on the original Charter Commission in 1992 are in support. They understand that we have to learn lessons from the past and adjust as best we can.

Business owners and taxpayers in the core of Lafayette recognize that a City Council will be able to better focus on building a strong and growing downtown; to reinvest time, energy, and attention into our older neighborhoods; and to foster an overall quality of life that will make Lafayette competitive with other cities across the country.

Across the parish, business organizations, small business owners, and taxpayers recognize that a dedicated Parish Council — one that spends 100 percent of its time on parish issues rather than being distracted by City of Lafayette issues — is best positioned to tackle the drainage and road issues of the future. Flood waters don’t recognize city limits.

Manage and protect LUS

And everyone understands that an autonomous City Council for Lafayette is the best way to manage and protect the city’s most valuable asset, the Lafayette Utilities System.

Mayor-President Joel Robideaux does not agree with those folks. That’s okay. But it is undeniably unfortunate that it’s been nearly six months since this proposal first surfaced and this is the first time we have heard from our mayor-president.

In his statement, Mr. Robideaux puts on his mayor’s hat and agrees that the City of Lafayette needs its own council, as he puts it, “in concept.” He says this is a “fundamental flaw” in our current system of government. But two issues ultimately compel him to be a no vote.

First, Mr. Robideaux worries about the potential stalemate that could occur if the City of Lafayette Council — representing City taxpayers — and the Parish of Lafayette Council—representing Parish taxpayers—are unable to agree on how to fund those “shared” services of consolidation. There is not a “mechanism to resolve that conflict,” he writes.

With all due respect, the mayor-president, like the executive in almost every flavor of local, state, and federal government in the United States, is himself the “mechanism to resolve that conflict.” Because the mayor-president presents the budget and has veto power, it is Mayor-President Robideaux’s duty to shape and shepherd the budget through both councils — in the same way a budget has to get through both house and senate in any state legislature.

Improper representation is a flaw

Let’s not let the fundamental flaw of improper representation — that today, city taxpayers are subject to budget decisions that they cannot control — fall by the wayside because it would require that we work together to solve problems.

Secondly, Mr. Robideaux states his concern that the City of Lafayette will be outvoted on the new Parish Council, allowing representatives from outside of the City of Lafayette to spend parish drainage funds outside of the City of Lafayette.

Nearly every one of the current parish-funded drainage projects are located outside of the City of Lafayette. Why? Because that is where the primary drainage needs are — and because the City of Lafayette has its own funding available for projects. Mr. Robideaux’s own administration made the decision on where to locate those projects and the current parish council, even the “city” members, agreed.

If one area of the parish has a greater need for a road project or drainage project than another area of the parish, then that is where those parish tax dollars should be spent, regardless of city boundaries. That is what happens today, and that is what will happen in the future, regardless of how Saturday’s election turns out. Mr. Robideaux’s own parish drainage priorities suggest that he agrees.

Consider the parish-wide drainage plan, which is funded with $2.5 million in parish taxes. In contrast, the City of Lafayette’s budget, when you include LUS, nears $500 million each year in city-generated revenue.

A poor trade

Why should we ask City of Lafayette taxpayers to give up on the chance to fix today’s fundamental flaw — which is that they have no “autonomy” over $500 million — only so that they can retain “relative influence” over a comparatively limited $2.5 million?

That’s a poor trade, and it is the definition of “pennywise and pound foolish.” And it unnecessarily pits city residents against parish residents. Let’s tackle our drainage problems together, without regard to city boundaries.

When this charter amendment passes, Lafayette will still have plenty of work to do. A “yes” vote just puts a better governance framework in place; it will still be up to community leaders to be willing to have a productive discussion about the issues and be willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work. And the first step is to vote “yes” on Saturday.

To learn more, and to see a detailed list of FAQs, please visit www.fixthecharter.com

Carlee Alm-LaBar, President

Fix The Charter PAC