We envy newspapers like The Times-Picayune and Gambit Weekly. New Orleans has corruption in its government institutions — widespread, endemic, congenital corruption; cancerous corruption that no chemical can ameliorate. It cannot be zapped by microwaves. New Orleans has bribes and kickbacks, back stabbing and malfeasance — all the colorful enumerations of bad, selfish, greedy behavior by which Louisiana’s political reputation is calculated. That malaise is apparently spreading with the city’s white flight: Mandeville’s recently former mayor pleaded guilty a week and a half ago to federal tax evasion and mail fraud charges. Now that’s working for the people (in the press).
Investigation. Arrest. Trial. Conviction. Sentence. They’re the bread and butter of journalism, especially journalism willing to take on people in power at the risk of alienating them. Government in the Big Easy is a big easy target; it has produced a spring in the step of reporters there for decades.
Here in Lafayette, it’s been a tougher row to hoe. We rejoice when a police chief confesses to bugging his secretary’s office or a grandstanding councilman scribbles graffiti on a credenza. Is that the best we can do? It’s superficial. A scrape in need of Bactine, a Band Aid and a kiss from mother.
This week’s cover story assessing the performance of department heads in Lafayette Consolidated Government is proof that it’s a desert out there. Certainly there is dysfunction in LCG — it wouldn’t be a human enterprise otherwise. That’s the idea we’re trying to convey in the image on this week’s cover: The structure isn’t perfect — there are gaps and misalignments — but it is somehow sound. It stands on its own. That’s no small undertaking in a consolidated government where rural and urban have to find a way to mesh competing prerogatives.
By and large, LCG is functional. Its upper management is competent; they have training and degrees in their areas of expertise. They do a good job at salaries probably lower than what they could earn in the private sector. Most of them are local, invested in the community. There are no black helicopters hovering over Lafayette, which sucks for us in local media. We watch and wait, then wait and watch.
One thing to watch is City-Parish President Joey Durel’s quest to equip all vehicles in the LCG fleet — from company cars to multi-axle trucks — with GPS tracking. He didn’t sell councilmen on the idea during budget finalization — the council balked — but he reinstated the nearly $400,000 in the budget for GPS with his veto pen. Durel is convinced, based on a stunning example of fuel savings after a state agency started using GPS, that the system will pay for itself quickly.
How? By making LCG employees honest. One implication of wanting GPS in all city-parish vehicles is that some LCG employees are using the vehicles for purposes other than what’s on the work order — putting extra, unauthorized miles on them. Durel is too nice a guy to say it plainly, which hurt his sales pitch to the council, but that’s part of it: some LCG employees are skimming from the proverbial till. That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout!
The council failed to override Durel's veto reinstating the GPS funding. In the meantime, if the worst that’s happening in Lafayette Consolidated Government is that some employees are driving their GI-Goes more than they should be, we’re doing pretty well.
... written by Citizen , October 21, 2009 - 10:29 am
It's that attitude - "if the wort that's happening..." is exactly the lackadaisical, dare I say it, laissez-faire mentality, that lowers the bar instead of striving to better. Thus, our public schools and public servants then see what more they can get away with, instead of having any motivation to do improve. Do you really want to set New Orleans public employees as the comparison rod? I know. I grew up in New Orleans and threw Carlos Marcello's newspaper as a boy. I'd rather see the work ethic and discipline, which results in a fine athelete like Drew Brees throwing touchdown passes. That's something we can all cheer about.
... written by Scott man , October 21, 2009 - 05:47 pm
We have been trying for the past 18 years to have our ditches cleaned out on our road in rural Lafayette, Days after a neighbor was elected to the city council his ditches were cleaned out but only from his house to the main drain. A process which took over a week 90% of the time spent napping in the truck. The GPS could maybe help the napping but not the arrogance and privilege of the city councilman.
... written by hard nose , October 22, 2009 - 06:30 am
Obviously, as city/parish tax payers, we're being over taxed when they can even consider such add-ons as this GPS system. This sounds so much like another one of Durel's 'feel good' proposals at the tax payer's expense. Thank you for the speed cams and thank you for the LUS Fiber network but really Mr. Durel where or when does it stop? Anyone checked their property tax assessments lately? Not everyone here in Lafayette makes 6 figure incomes, drives around in a 40K suv or lives in a 350K home. Just look around at some of the road work projects - some almost look as if they are "make work" projects just to use up the appropriated funds, while other bigger picture projects go unattended...for years - as in the case of widening Verot School road. Someone needs to put a halter on whoever is coming up with the non-sense and put some focus on real problem areas without all the left / right hogwash politics that always skew the issues. Just do it, get over it and then move on to the next pressing issue. City/parish counsel members get over yourselves please, and do what needs to be done or get out of the way and let someone else do it.
... written by PMS Barbie , October 22, 2009 - 08:36 am
When to we get to grade the Independent staff?
... written by Myric6 , October 22, 2009 - 09:04 am
I look forward to the day when GPS systems are in ALL CITY OWNED VEHICLES, including ANYONE WHO GETS A SUBSIDY. I'M HOPING THAT MEANS THAT THOSE RECORDS WOULD BECOME PUBLIC and the public could see, in black and white, that police/sheriff's vehicles, fire dept vehicles, public works vehicles, administrative vehicles: for the most part TAXPAYER OWNED OR SUBSIDIZED VEHICLES are being used for personal business several times a day, every day. As I've said before, its particulary worrisome to me that they're used to drop off children or pick them up at school every day. Some days, I've seen more than one at some schools. I once read in the paper the sheriff's response to how that was acceptable and read a very vague response about being a sworn law enf. offical 24 hrs a day.... I think it will be a long time, and maybe a different mayor, before the taxpayer can find out what's really being done with their dollars by way of vehicle use. The administration really doesn't want to reveal that.
... written by NORTHSIDIAN SHOTGUN , October 22, 2009 - 09:20 pm
PMS BARBIE, ITS TIME FOR YOUR MEDS CHER, AW YOU SOILED AGAIN, BAD GIRL!! YEA!!!!! MYRIC6, "YOU JUST GOT IT" LET AH COUILLION SHERIFFS DEPUTY INJURE HIS CHILDREN IN A TRAFFIC PILE-UP AND DAT BOY GONNA BE AH WEALTHY BARNEY FIFE, COUILLION!!!! OH MYRIC6 NOT MANY READERS AROUND SO GET YOU VOTING-AGE FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND LETS CHANGE DEM GOOD OLE BOY COUILLION, MENTAL GIANTS IN OFFICE NEXT ELECTION !!!!!!!!!!!
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