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Broussard adopts ordinance authorizing negotiation of amendment No.5 to wholesale water agreement with Lafayette consolidated government
Summary
Council adopted Ordinance 25‑832 giving authority to adopt Amendment No. 5 to the wholesale water agreement with Lafayette consolidated government; the council accepted city attorney advice that adopting the ordinance as written would allow final contract language to be negotiated without returning to council for ministerial changes.
The City of Broussard on Aug. 12 adopted Ordinance 25‑832, which authorizes amendment No. 5 to the wholesale water agreement between Lafayette consolidated government (LCG) and the City of Broussard. Council members approved the ordinance after a discussion about contract language and whether to pause the item while Lafayette and the city exchanged revised draft language.
City officials reported that Lafayette LCG had requested changes to language circulated earlier in the week. The mayor and city attorney discussed whether to defer action; Gerald, the city attorney, advised that adopting the ordinance as drafted would give staff and attorneys authority to negotiate and finalize contract language without returning to the council for ministerial edits. “If you adopt the ordinance as is, it gives them their authority to go and work out this language, and then we don't have to come back,” Gerald said.
A point of concern raised by council members was wording in the agreement that implied the city buys all water from Lafayette. Staff noted that Broussard produces a significant volume of its own water and also purchases from Lafayette; council members asked that inaccurate phrasing be removed from the final document. The council voted to adopt the ordinance, and Gerald and Lafayette’s attorney were reported to be continuing work on final contract language.
There was no public comment on the ordinance. The council recorded a roll‑call vote and the motion passed.
Why it matters: The wholesale water agreement governs the terms under which Broussard purchases treated water from Lafayette LCG; the amendment and the council’s approval authorize staff to finalize negotiated language without requiring the council to reconvene for non substantive edits.
Next steps: City and Lafayette attorneys to finalize the amendment language per the council’s direction; staff will implement the finalized agreement once both parties sign the amendment.
