Steve Bandy/Rayne Acadian-Tribune
In a move proponents said would promote “continuity of administrative procedures,” the Acadia Parish Police Jury voted 6-2 to appoint Donna Bertrand, current human resources officer, to serve as secretary-treasurer through the end of 2017.
Bertrand has been handling the duties of secretary-treasurer since Feb. 15 when Laura Faul vacated the position to accept a job with the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office. Bertrand’s appointment will fill Faul’s unexpired two-year term.
By delegating the position to Bertrand along with her human resources duties, the parish will save an estimated $54,000 in the general fund, according to Robert Guidry, who made the motion.
The jury had accepted resumes for the position after Faul’s announcement and had introduced five prospective candidates to the Personnel Committee a week ago.
David Savoy, jury president, said the appointment of Bertrand to fill the unexpired term will give the jury the opportunity to “continue a comprehensive search for qualified applicants.”
Voting in favor of Bertrand’s appointment were Guidry, Savoy, Danny Hebert, Chuck Broussard, Kerry Kilgore and Richard Faul. Opposed were Ronnie Fabacher and Jimmie Pellerin.
In other action, jurors voted 5-3 against appointing Brad Andrus as “special counsel” to handle all of the parish’s “general” legal work.
Jurors attempted to sidestep the state mandate that the district attorney serve as general counsel for governing bodies.
But District Attorney Keith Stutes, who has been at nearly every police jury meeting since taking office two years ago, explained that a state Attorney General opinion declared that, if the jury were to appoint a special counsel to do general counsel duties, that move would, in effect, relieve the district attorney from the state mandate.
“An AG opinion is not state law,” Stutes reminded. “It is an attorney’s opinion.”
Voting against the “special counsel” designation were Hebert, Fabacher, Broussard, Kilgore and Pellerin. Voting for were Faul, Guidry and Savoy.
Andrus would stay on as “general counsel” for the police jury for the time being.
But in other “counsel-related” business, the jury is seeking state legislative action that would exclude Acadia Parish from the state-mandated legal representation of the district attorney, a move that Stutes said he favors.
Currently, six parishes — including Vermilion, which, with Acadia and Lafayette parishes, constitute the 15th Judicial District — have been excluded from the mandate through legislative action.
If the legislation — which will likely be introduced by Sen. Jonathan Perry, R-Kaplan — were to ultimately pass, according to Stutes, it would give the parish the opportunity to “opt out” of the state mandate, thus “relieving” the district attorney from his responsibilities.
Should the parish choose not to hire its own counsel, the responsibility would once again fall to the district attorney, Stutes explained.
“Since Vermilion, who is in our judicial district, is excluded, I thought it only fair that you have the same opportunity if you want it,” the D.A. told jurors.
A resolution expressing the jury’s desire to be excluded will be forwarded to Perry.