.
............................................................
SLEIDD and parish legal battle may end
An on-going legal battle between St. Landry Parish's government and an economic development agency may be ending.
"I think we have finally resolved the issues," said state Sen. Donald Cravins Jr., who is acting as a mediator.
He said he will be meeting with representatives of both the St. Landry Economic and Industrial Development District and the parish council on Monday."I'm just glad they are willing to sit down and talk," Cravins said. "Hopefully everyone will agree."
The compromise being considered is that the council will retain the right to appoint members to the SLEIDD board and, once appointed, board members will be able to serve more than one term.
Cravins said, ideally, both groups will pass resolutions endorsing the agreement and he will then use those resolutions as the basis for a local bill he will introduce into the state Legislature enshrining the agreement into law.
"This will save the taxpayers money," Cravins said.
SLEIDD Executive Director Gerard Perron called the suit, which has drug on for more than a year, a waste of money.
"We've spent over $30,000 on legal fees fighting this. That's waste, waste, waste, loss, loss, loss. That is money we could have better used promoting local economic development," Perron said.
"It looks like Mr. Cravins will pick up the ball if everyone agrees. It looks like we are going to settle this outside the courtroom," Perron said.
The legal battle between the two public bodies began in April of 2005 when the parish council voted to remove a majority of SLEIDD's board, arguing such board members can only serve one term. All of the board members removed had served more than one term.
SLEIDD objected, pointing to a 1999 amendment passed through the state Legislature by the late Rep. Charles Hudson allowing its board members to serve multiple terms.
Late last year, the state Attorney General's office issued an opinion siding with SLEIDD.
Initially SLEIDD also argued that, while the parish council has the right to appoint members to its board, it does not have the right to remove them in the middle of their term.
Since then attorney David Carriere, who is representing SLEIDD, expanded the suit, and is now questioning the right of the council to appoint members to not only the SLEIDD board but to any parish board.
Carriere argues that under the Home Rule Charter, which took effect in 2004, that power now rest with the parish president.
He compared it to the federal government, where the president nominates individuals to judgeships, agency heads and such, and the senate then votes to confirm or deny these appointments.