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When Robert Taylor founded the Concerned Citizens of St. John (CCSJ) in 2017, the goal was to advocate for citizens’ health and safety by holding government and industry officials accountable for air, water, and soil quality.

Today, the seven-year-old group, now incorporated as The Concerned Citizens of St. John, Inc. (TCCSJ), also known as Concerned Citizens, Inc., is at odds with its former partner, Louisiana Bucket Brigade (LABB), who is trying to split and redirect funding meant for TCCSJ to a breakaway group.

The discord between Concerned Citizens, Inc. and LABB intensified in March 2024 when LABB filed a lawsuit at the Civil District Court of Orleans, Parish of New Orleans, asking the court to grant judgment allowing it to disperse funds in its possession at its discretion.

The suit also seeks a court ruling prohibiting TCCSJ or anyone acting on their behalf from claiming those funds.

When Taylor founded TCCSJ in 2017, the group entered into a non-written agreement with LABB, a nonprofit environment advocacy organization deemed tax-exempt by the IRS, to serve as its fiscal sponsor and obtain tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. 

The relationship deteriorated after TCCSJ obtained 501(c)(3) non-profit status in 2022, which means Concerned Citizens, Inc. could operate independently. 

In Sept. 2022, Louisiana Bucket sent an agreement to become the TCCSJ Model A fiscal sponsor, which TCCSJ claimed was never signed. Under this arrangement, TCCSJ would be integrated into LABB and operate as an in-house program. However, TCCSJ claims it never signed an agreement with LABB for an A Model sponsorship.

Ernest Jones, attorney for Concerned Citizens, Inc., said LABB believes it owns everything as a fiscal sponsor for any group. However, Jones noted that TCCSJ never signed an agreement with LABB for sponsorship.

“We believe that if a donor has indicated that their funds are meant for TCCSJ, then TCCSJ is entitled to receive all of them,” Jones said. “The two groups had been operating for years without a signed agreement, and Concerned Citizens, Inc. has continued to do the work they’ve always done and never viewed their organization as a ‘project’ of LABB.” 

Jones also stated that TCCSJ never reached an agreement with LABB for fiscal sponsorship. “A letter dated October 1, 2022, from CCSJ leadership indicates that the group had reviewed and agreed to the contract, but no contract was ever signed.” 

On September 14, 2023, former CCSJ member Mary Hampton notified CCSJ of her resignation as President and announced her collaboration with Ms. Lydia Gerard, another former member, to establish Boundless Community Action (BCA). 

The letter also stated that BCA had “successfully acquired a fiscal sponsor,” who turned out to be LEAN. According to Taylor, LABB persuaded former members of the CCSJ to form a breakaway group after CCSJ attained 501(c)(3) non-profit status.

“There had to be conversations between LABB, LEAN, and BCA before this,” Taylor claims. “Once LABB and CCSJ members were informed, LABB drafted the exit agreement that allocated half of the money collected for CCSJ to BCA.” 

In the lawsuit filed by LABB against TCCSJ, the environment advocacy group seeks a judgment allowing it to disperse funds in its possession at its complete discretion to BCA. 

Responding to the lawsuit, Concerned Citizens Inc., wants the court to scrutinize LABB’s management of funds, particularly those that may have been allocated on their behalf. 

“LABB does not have the power to split the money,” Taylor said. “The lawsuit is actually to give them the power to control the money collected and to give that money to whomever they can control.” 

He also acknowledges that CCSJ had made mistakes along the way. “That was mainly due to inexperience and trusting others. But in the end, it always boils down to the same old strategy: divide and conquer.”