Some County Officials Refused Hawaii Trip
POSTED: 9:36 am CDT July 18, 2005
UPDATED: 3:41 pm CDT July 19, 2005
HONOLULU -- Dressed in flowered shirts and shorts and discussing topics such as homeland security and illegal drugs, thousands of county officials began a national conference criticized in Louisiana and elsewhere for its exotic location and cost to taxpayers.
The 3,000 elected officials and others at the National Association of Counties convention in Honolulu include 21 from St. Charles Parish, where some residents are upset by the $46,000 trip.
Some county officials around the nation refused to participate in the event, calling it an abuse of taxpayer money. Alabama, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin sent no delegates.
In Louisiana, St. Tammany Parish sent two people, Orleans sent one and Plaquemines and Jefferson parishes sent no one.
The city of Las Vegas sent three people and spent $7,000.
It's the first time in 30 years the association has met in Hawaii.
Officials who went said they're there to work and network with colleagues and seek solutions for problems in their home counties. They're supported by Hawaii officials trying to build a reputation as a place to do serious business and still enjoy the balmy weather and tropical splendor.
Most of the county officials flew in Thursday, bleary-eyed but ready for business.
Steve Sirmon, chief information officer for St. Charles Parish, acknowledged he would have fun in Hawaii, but he said he would be discussing coastal erosion and hurricane protection. He said a commissioner saved thousands of dollars for his parish with something he'd learned about at an earlier conference.
21 St Charles Parish reps attend mtg in Hawaii-taxpayers exp
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What a way to utilize taxpayers money -
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Council blasted for trip taken to Hawaii
But members refuse to offer apologies
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
By Jenny Hurwitz
River Parishes bureau
Four St. Charles Parish residents gave Parish Council members an earful at Monday's council meeting for sending a 22-member delegation to Hawaii last month at taxpayer expense.
As residents -- one wearing a lei for visual impact -- addressed the council, the council members refused to offer apologies or explanations for the trip. The parish sent eight council members and other government employees, including clerks and secretaries, to the National Association of Counties convention in Honolulu.
"As you can see, I'm ready to go to Hawaii," said Stanford Caillouet, pointing to his lei. Caillouet went to the podium to discuss another issue, but first made sure the council had noticed his neckwear.
Thelma Schexnayder of Destrehan wasn't as playful about the matter. She said many people felt betrayed that their elected officials chose to spend public money on such a trip.
Officials spent almost $50,000 on airfare, hotel accommodations and registration. The cost of the trip is covered by the parish's travel and training budget. Officials allocated about $532,000 of the $90 million budget for travel and training expenses in 2005.
Reports detailing additional incidental costs are due to the financial office within 15 days of the return date, parish Finance Director Lorrie Toups said. She expects to receive all that information from officials by Aug. 11, she said.
Schexnayder said residents probably will forget about the trip . But come election time, council members' opponents would be more than happy to resurrect the issue, she said.
"I'm told in Hawaii, 'Aloha' means hello and goodbye," she said. "It could mean, 'Hello Hawaii, goodbye political careers.' "
Carolyn Schexnaydre, also of Destrehan, said officials who took their spouses should have to pay for half of their hotel accommodations out of their own pockets.
"You owe all this parish an apology," she said. "And you need to start writing big checks for a vacation you had on the taxpayers."
Gwen Dufrene of Des Allemands questioned why officials say there is no money for capital projects, yet they can afford conferences in Hawaii.
Mary Thomas of St. Rose spoke about a diesel pump responsible for moving water out of her neighborhood that has not been functioning. Her garage flooded as a result of Tropical Storm Cindy, she said.
"While you're all in Hawaii having a good time, I'm cleaning wet property out of my garage," she said.
Eight of nine council members were present for the meeting; Councilman Lance Marino was absent.
Some council members have responded to the public criticism by proposing a new law.
Council members Ganesier "Ram" Ramchandran and Richard "Dickie" Duhe, both of whom attended the conference, introduced an ordinance at Monday's meeting that would limit the number of people the parish government could sponsor to attend NACo conferences.
That ordinance will be open for public hearing and voted on at the council's next meeting, on Aug. 15.
But members refuse to offer apologies
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
By Jenny Hurwitz
River Parishes bureau
Four St. Charles Parish residents gave Parish Council members an earful at Monday's council meeting for sending a 22-member delegation to Hawaii last month at taxpayer expense.
As residents -- one wearing a lei for visual impact -- addressed the council, the council members refused to offer apologies or explanations for the trip. The parish sent eight council members and other government employees, including clerks and secretaries, to the National Association of Counties convention in Honolulu.
"As you can see, I'm ready to go to Hawaii," said Stanford Caillouet, pointing to his lei. Caillouet went to the podium to discuss another issue, but first made sure the council had noticed his neckwear.
Thelma Schexnayder of Destrehan wasn't as playful about the matter. She said many people felt betrayed that their elected officials chose to spend public money on such a trip.
Officials spent almost $50,000 on airfare, hotel accommodations and registration. The cost of the trip is covered by the parish's travel and training budget. Officials allocated about $532,000 of the $90 million budget for travel and training expenses in 2005.
Reports detailing additional incidental costs are due to the financial office within 15 days of the return date, parish Finance Director Lorrie Toups said. She expects to receive all that information from officials by Aug. 11, she said.
Schexnayder said residents probably will forget about the trip . But come election time, council members' opponents would be more than happy to resurrect the issue, she said.
"I'm told in Hawaii, 'Aloha' means hello and goodbye," she said. "It could mean, 'Hello Hawaii, goodbye political careers.' "
Carolyn Schexnaydre, also of Destrehan, said officials who took their spouses should have to pay for half of their hotel accommodations out of their own pockets.
"You owe all this parish an apology," she said. "And you need to start writing big checks for a vacation you had on the taxpayers."
Gwen Dufrene of Des Allemands questioned why officials say there is no money for capital projects, yet they can afford conferences in Hawaii.
Mary Thomas of St. Rose spoke about a diesel pump responsible for moving water out of her neighborhood that has not been functioning. Her garage flooded as a result of Tropical Storm Cindy, she said.
"While you're all in Hawaii having a good time, I'm cleaning wet property out of my garage," she said.
Eight of nine council members were present for the meeting; Councilman Lance Marino was absent.
Some council members have responded to the public criticism by proposing a new law.
Council members Ganesier "Ram" Ramchandran and Richard "Dickie" Duhe, both of whom attended the conference, introduced an ordinance at Monday's meeting that would limit the number of people the parish government could sponsor to attend NACo conferences.
That ordinance will be open for public hearing and voted on at the council's next meeting, on Aug. 15.
Last edited by LaPlaceFF on Wed Aug 03, 2005 2:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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streetsoldier wrote:LAwxrgal wrote:Why am I not surprised?
Who would refuse a free vacation in Hawaii?
They ain't no sech thang as a free lunch...sum wun always payz.
I ment free fer dem.
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Proposal to limit officials' travel fails
Measure in response to Hawaii conference
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
By Jenny Hurwitz
River Parishes bureau
The St. Charles Parish Council voted down an ordinance at Monday's meeting that would have limited travel for government officials. The law was proposed in the wake of a July trip to a government conference in Hawaii that garnered widespread criticism from residents who said it wasted taxpayer dollars.
The ordinance failed 6-2, with council members Derryl Walls, Barry Minnich, Lance Marino, Desmond Hilaire, April Black and Clayton "Snookie" Faucheux voting against it, and Ganesier "Ram" Ramchandran and Richard "Dickie" Duhe voting for it at the council's meeting in Hahnville.
Ramchandran, who sponsored the ordinance with Duhe, said he did not intend to prevent members from attending future National Association of Counties conferences but wanted to regulate the number of delegates sent by the parish in the future.
"Let us put it in the public domain and handle it in an open fashion," Ramchandran said. "It doesn't say you cannot go. It doesn't say you shouldn't go."
But council members objected, saying they did not want to place limitations on the number of council members who could attend each year.
The ordinance specified that five of the nine council members could attend on odd-numbered years and the other four could attend on even-numbered years.
Black said the cap was too specific, especially given the differing schedules and diverse backgrounds of the council. Members who have full-time jobs might not be able to make schedule changes to attend on their specified years, she said.
The law also stipulated that only the parish president and one other member of the administration could attend on an annual basis; all other administration members, including department heads, would require council permission.
Citizens spoke in support of the law, complaining that the trip was excessive and citing the fact that it cost the parish close to $50,000 in airfare, registration and accommodations to send the 22-member delegation.
Finance Director Lorrie Toups said expense reports, detailing other incidental expenses, would be available to the public today.
But council members said the $50,000 price tag was a small price to pay for the knowledge they gained.
Marino cited one seminar he attended, on executive sessions dealing with lawsuits against counties and parishes. The information he learned in that seminar could potentially save the parish millions of dollars, he said.
And Faucheux listed a number of grants and appropriations that the parish has received, including $500,000 to widen Almedia Road in St. Rose, as a result of the council's attendance at the conferences over the years.
However, citizens who spoke continued to voice their support for the ordinance, stressing that the entire expense was unjustified.
"If it doesn't agree to your likings, change it or something," said Carolyn Schexnaydre of Destrehan. "But I think you really need to consider it, because the expenses are really getting out of hand."
Walls suggested amending the ordinance to eliminate any restrictions on council member attendance, but other members failed to second his motion.
Despite the objections voiced by his fellow council members, Duhe said after the meeting that the failed ordinance did not represent his final word on the issue.
"We'll re-evaluate it, we'll look at it," he said. "We'll try to put something in place."
. . . . . . .
In my opinion they are trying to bury this issue in bureaucracy
Measure in response to Hawaii conference
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
By Jenny Hurwitz
River Parishes bureau
The St. Charles Parish Council voted down an ordinance at Monday's meeting that would have limited travel for government officials. The law was proposed in the wake of a July trip to a government conference in Hawaii that garnered widespread criticism from residents who said it wasted taxpayer dollars.
The ordinance failed 6-2, with council members Derryl Walls, Barry Minnich, Lance Marino, Desmond Hilaire, April Black and Clayton "Snookie" Faucheux voting against it, and Ganesier "Ram" Ramchandran and Richard "Dickie" Duhe voting for it at the council's meeting in Hahnville.
Ramchandran, who sponsored the ordinance with Duhe, said he did not intend to prevent members from attending future National Association of Counties conferences but wanted to regulate the number of delegates sent by the parish in the future.
"Let us put it in the public domain and handle it in an open fashion," Ramchandran said. "It doesn't say you cannot go. It doesn't say you shouldn't go."
But council members objected, saying they did not want to place limitations on the number of council members who could attend each year.
The ordinance specified that five of the nine council members could attend on odd-numbered years and the other four could attend on even-numbered years.
Black said the cap was too specific, especially given the differing schedules and diverse backgrounds of the council. Members who have full-time jobs might not be able to make schedule changes to attend on their specified years, she said.
The law also stipulated that only the parish president and one other member of the administration could attend on an annual basis; all other administration members, including department heads, would require council permission.
Citizens spoke in support of the law, complaining that the trip was excessive and citing the fact that it cost the parish close to $50,000 in airfare, registration and accommodations to send the 22-member delegation.
Finance Director Lorrie Toups said expense reports, detailing other incidental expenses, would be available to the public today.
But council members said the $50,000 price tag was a small price to pay for the knowledge they gained.
Marino cited one seminar he attended, on executive sessions dealing with lawsuits against counties and parishes. The information he learned in that seminar could potentially save the parish millions of dollars, he said.
And Faucheux listed a number of grants and appropriations that the parish has received, including $500,000 to widen Almedia Road in St. Rose, as a result of the council's attendance at the conferences over the years.
However, citizens who spoke continued to voice their support for the ordinance, stressing that the entire expense was unjustified.
"If it doesn't agree to your likings, change it or something," said Carolyn Schexnaydre of Destrehan. "But I think you really need to consider it, because the expenses are really getting out of hand."
Walls suggested amending the ordinance to eliminate any restrictions on council member attendance, but other members failed to second his motion.
Despite the objections voiced by his fellow council members, Duhe said after the meeting that the failed ordinance did not represent his final word on the issue.
"We'll re-evaluate it, we'll look at it," he said. "We'll try to put something in place."
. . . . . . .
In my opinion they are trying to bury this issue in bureaucracy
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