Parish amends bond-resolution advisers after public comment and legal warning

The Terrebonne Parish Budget and Finance Committee considered a resolution to seek preliminary approval to issue public improvement revenue bonds and approved a substitute motion replacing the municipal adviser and underwriter named in the published resolution.

The substitute motion, offered by Councilman Clyde Hamner and seconded by Councilman Carl Harding, passed 5-4. The matter attracted public comment from representatives of two firms named in the original backup and a legal caution that inserting new company names at the meeting could create open‑meetings concerns.

Why it matters: Committee members and staff said the bond proceeds would help meet a roughly $14 million local match needed for a parish power‑plant project and could fund road work; speakers also said timing matters because the parish hopes to have funds in place before year‑end and to present an intent to the State Bond Commission.

The resolution as read on the agenda includes language authorizing the issuance of public improvement revenue bonds “not exceeding $50,000,000.” During discussion, parish staff described the working figure for immediate projects as a smaller amount — “just not to exceed $25,000,000,” she said — a difference noted in the discussion without an immediate reconciliation on the record.

Substitute motion and votes Clyde Hamner proposed a substitute motion to amend the resolution by replacing the municipal adviser named in section 9 with Government Consultants Incorporated and replacing the underwriter named in section 10 with DA Davidson & Company. Parish attorney Michelle Neal cautioned the council that “a substitute motion to change the name on the resolution is not gonna work under the open meetings laws provisions” because the backup published for the meeting listed the original company names and the public would not have had an opportunity to review the alternate firms.

Two firms named in the original backup addressed the committee. Stephanie Ferry, identifying herself as representing Raymond James & Associates, said she has worked with Terrebonne issuers since 1998 and told the committee, “The more people who are willing to buy your bonds, the lower that interest rate is.” John Mayhew, who identified his firm as a municipal adviser under contract with the parish, described the municipal‑adviser role and said, “Our job is to make sure that you are borrowing in a manner that you're structuring these bonds in the way that's going to give the parish the best not only the cheapest debt, but to also give you the best features in the debt that that you're looking for.”

Council debate focused on timing and process. Several members said they had relied on parish staff and the parish chief financial officer’s prior work in moving the resolution forward. Candace (parish staff) clarified that the parish government did not prepare the draft resolution named by the underwriter and that she had spoken with both firms earlier in the day and understood they would match competitive terms.

Hamner said his substitute sets different fee caps and argued the change could save the parish money; he noted his amendment used not‑to‑exceed figures that he described in the meeting. Neal said substituting company names without published backup risked violating open‑meetings rules; Hamner and others urged the administration to meet with the alternate firms and bring the matter back if needed.

The committee voted on the substitute motion and recorded a 5‑4 result in favor of the amendment. The transcript records the substitute motion as having passed; the meeting record in the transcript does not show a separate recorded final vote on the fully amended resolution later in the same block.

What happens next: Staff said the State Bond Commission must review and approve the parish’s application; the parish would then go to market and, if proceeds are received, return to the council with budget amendments for specific projects. Staff and council members also said they planned to arrange meetings between parish administration and the alternate firms named in the amendment so that the bond commission filing and next steps could proceed.

Clarifying notes from the meeting - Agenda language read at the meeting referenced authority to issue bonds “not exceeding $50,000,000.” During discussion, staff repeatedly referenced a working issuance amount of “not to exceed $25,000,000” for immediate projects; both figures appeared in the meeting record and were discussed without an on‑the‑record reconciliation. - Hamner said his substitute motion set advisory/underwriting caps (he referenced figures expressed during the meeting as approximately 0.775 and 0.2 for the alternate firms and said he had kept the original resolution’s higher caps out of the amendment). Those caps were discussed as not‑to‑exceed and subject to negotiation. - Committee members and staff repeatedly linked the urgency to a roughly $14 million local match for a power‑plant project and to an effort to begin road projects with any remaining proceeds.

Sources: public comments and committee discussion at the Terrebonne Parish Budget and Finance Committee meeting. Quotations in this article are taken verbatim from speakers recorded in the meeting transcript.

Next steps: Staff will seek State Bond Commission review and meet with the firms named in the substitute amendment; any sale and receipt of bond proceeds would be followed by specific budget amendments brought back to the council for approval.