On Nov. 19 the Iberia Parish Council amended a 2025 general fund resolution to adjust the parish president’s salary and related benefits and separately removed from consideration a proposed intergovernmental agreement concerning the criminal courts fund.

Amendment and salary adjustment

Councilman Scott Rossoner read an amendment to Resolution 2-77 to correct totals and adjust the parish president's annual salary for fiscal year 2025 (the amendment specified adjusted figures and referenced the Home Rule Charter). The amendment was seconded, the council voted on the amendment and the amendment carried; the main motion subsequently carried as well. During discussion members repeatedly referenced the parish charter as the driver of compensation calculations and asked the clerk for corrected totals.

Judge and criminal court fund item

Judge Roger Hamilton addressed the council earlier in the meeting to discuss the criminal court fund and said the fund is projected to show a surplus "for the first time in 10 years," and thanked the council for courthouse improvements and transparency.

Later, an executive-committee item that would have authorized the parish president to enter an intergovernmental agreement with 16th Judicial District judges and the district attorney was discussed. Several council members said they had not been provided any draft agreement to review and described the item as premature. The committee moved to delete the item and the deletion carried.

Why it matters

Adjustments to elected-official compensation and decisions about intergovernmental agreements are governed by charter provisions and can draw public scrutiny. The council’s action corrected figures in the budget amendment and removed an agreement item that members said required review before action.

Next steps

Clerks and staff will finalize corrected salary figures in the budget amendment paperwork and the council will not act on the intergovernmental agreement until members and staff can review a proposed draft.