St. Landry Parish Government was charged about $100,000 for a grader that was never delivered.
Parish President Bill Fontenot, questioned by Councilman Timmy Lejeune, said action is being taken to recover the charge on a John Deere grader.
“Well, I guess didn’t catch it. We just inadvertently paid the overcharge,” Fontenot said.
The charge looked legitimate, he said, and continued for about three months before it was discovered.
Fontenot also detailed the parish’s lease road equipment.
— A John Deere tractor at $1,045.33 a month.
— Two John Deere graders at $2,728.74 each a month. The leases have expired and a they are to replaced with Caterpillar graders.
— Two John Deere excavators, one at $4,900.05 a month and the other at $1,095 a month.
Fontenot said he is looking at obtaining a third grader as requested by the Council.
Other than special road districts, there are only two graders working parish roads, he said.
The lack of graders is mirrored in the near termination of grass mowing along parish roads.
Citing manpower and equipment limitations, Fontenot said grass control has been relegated to a contracted herbicide spraying company.
The spraying is making its second round of parish roads this year, he said.
Councilman Coby Clavier said the poison has not been effective and said some areas should be cut.
But Fontenot said all the parish has available is one tractor and a couple of beat up shredders for mowing on a spot basis.
The Public Works Department, which handles chores such as grass cutting, saw half of its workforce laid off this year as parish government sought to eliminate a deficit.
Public Works has nine employees, down 12 employees from last year.
Lejeune said at a July meeting, “We only have nine employees working in Public Works. So therefore we have around 900 miles of road. That means we have one employee ... that takes cares of 200 miles of ditches, 100 miles of road, 100 miles of vegetation, 100 miles of signs that are missing, 100 miles of complaints.”
