Charter review committee votes 10-1 to ask council for resolution backing state bill authorizing parish-wide inspector general

The St. Tammany Parish Charter Review Committee voted 10-1 to ask the parish council to draft and consider a resolution supporting state legislation that would authorize voters to permit a parish-wide inspector general. The committee’s roll-call vote recorded 10 yeas and 1 nay on the motion to bring the inspector-general bill back for discussion and to ask the council to consider a supporting resolution.

Committee members debated scope, cost and timing before the vote. Supporters said adding St. Tammany to pending legislation would preserve the option to place a charter provision or ballot measure before voters authorizing a parish-wide inspector general with authority to investigate parish-funded dollars across parish entities. Opponents and cautious members raised cost and governance questions—who appoints the oversight board, budget impacts, and whether a forensic auditor or internal auditor could provide similar oversight at lower cost.

During the discussion the committee heard examples from other parishes: a witness described Jefferson Parish’s inspector-general funding via a dedicated rededication of a road-lighting district (cited as about a 0.5-mill example) and said Orleans Parish’s inspector-general model has broader investigative reach. Committee members also noted that adding St. Tammany to the state bill would be permissive rather than mandatory—the bill would only provide authority; any inspector-general office would still require local approval and, if created, charter language to define structure, funding and appointment rules.

The committee recorded the vote by roll call. The chair or clerk read members’ responses: Larry Rolling — yes; Cheryl Tanner — yes; Arlena LeBlanc — nay; Jeff — yes; Arthur Laughlin — yes; Kevin Davis — yes; (Gina) Hayes and Scott Delacroix — yes; General Ernst — yes; Jill Impastato — yes. The motion passed 10–1.

After the vote, the committee directed staff to draft the resolution for the parish council and to circulate the draft to the committee for review. The resolution will request that the council consider supporting the state legislation that would permit voters to authorize a parish-wide inspector general.