AMY SZPARA

LAPLACE – The St. John the Baptist Parish Council delayed voting Tuesday on an ordinance which, if approved, would require firms who hold parish contracts to provide extensive information to the council each month. This came following much heated discussion and the exchange of a few harsh words among members. Councilman Allen St. Pierre proposed the ordinance which caused controversy among members because it would order contractors and subcontractors to name all relatives they employ, the status of contracted projects and money paid for projects each month. As it stands, contractors report progress to the administration which passes on that information to the council. Questions from the council about specifics can be addressed to contractors at meetings, if they place the item on the agenda. St. Pierre said, “We want all the information we can get about people who do business for this board.” But about half of the council argued, as the ordinance was written, it would cause contractors unnecessary hassle. If approved, the ordinance would mandate contractors who are doing even the smallest amount of business for the parish to provide an update of money received from the parish on a monthly basis. One section of the ordinance requires information on each principal of the company. A principal would be anyone who has a 1 percent or greater ownership in the company. “It will be burdensome, but not illegal,” said attorney Barry Landry, who added much of the information being requested is readily available with large companies like Entergy, but it would just have to be provided in another setting. Parish President Nickie Monica said administration could not support the ordinance because of Section 1, which required that contractors divulge names of relatives. “If there is any wrongdoing, a letter can be sent to the Board of Ethics,” he said. “It doesn’t take an ordinance.” Some council members were concerned with the word “principal,” as used in the ordinance. Councilman Duaine Duffy said the ordinance would require multi-million dollar national conglomerates to list all employees and stockholders. Even the stockholders would have to sign affidavits listing what money they earn from the contract. “It goes against good business principles,” said Duffy. “It’s impractical. Why do we need to know who owns a portion of stock?” He added that if the ordinance was rewritten to narrow the definition of “principal,” he would be willing to support it. Councilmen Lester Rainey Jr. and Dale Wolfe said they would support St. Pierre and vote for the ordinance. “I’m not sure what the problem is with getting more information,” said Rainey. “If there is a problem with someone providing this information, then I don’t think they need to do business with St. John Parish. He (St. Pierre) is asking to shed more light, and I’m going to support him.” Wolfe complained current administration doesn’t support the ordinances the council approves. “We need to let them know that what we pass, they should honor,” he said. “We legislate. They administrate. But they don’t care about what we say. They’re looking for trouble. They’re asking for trouble. If they can get away with that, they can get away with anything.” After quite a bit of arguing, including some council members questioning the motive for the ordinance, suggesting other members implied a distrust of administration, Duffy suggested a substitute motion to table the ordinance and hold a meeting to draft another ordinance. In a 5-4 vote for the substitution, the council approved a future meeting to include all involved to create changes in the ordinance.