Finance committee asks full council to name planning staffer 'Scooter' liaison to master-plan consultant to limit duplicate consultant charges

The Livingston Parish Finance Committee voted to send the full parish council a request to appoint planning staffer 'Scooter' as the single point of contact for the parish's master-plan consultant, a step members said is intended to reduce duplicate consultant billings and limit costs.

Councilmember Dominguez moved to forward the appointment; Councilmember Watts seconded. The clerk announced the motion and, with no opposition voiced on the record, said the motion carried. Committee members discussed that consultant work is billed hourly, that travel and mileage are billed separately, and that overlapping questions to the consultant and parish attorneys can multiply hourly charges.

The committee review noted that the consultant’s contract had been billed through May and that the consultant charges in the record are $125 per hour plus mileage. A presenter said the contract had been extended through May and that the original allocation “was about $50,000” but that the total billed amount is now at or near that figure. Committee members asked staff to provide itemized invoices so they could review how time and travel were being billed.

Members said the liaison would provide a single local contact for constituents, council members and administration to direct questions to before the consultant is engaged; if Scooter cannot resolve a question, staff said Scooter would escalate it to the consultant. The committee characterized the step as a cost-management measure rather than a disciplinary action toward the consultant.

The committee also recorded a motion to adjourn the finance committee (moved by Councilmember Watts, seconded by Councilmember Mangus); that motion also carried.