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Ethics commission urges parish president and council to let inspector general email employees about fraud reporting
Summary
After the inspector general said the parish president blocked monthly staff emails about fraud reporting as 'inappropriate,' the commission adopted a resolution calling on parish leadership to support IG education and permit the IG to send emails to all parish employees.
The Jefferson Parish Ethics and Compliance Commission voted on Jan. 21, 2026 to send a resolution to the parish president and parish council urging them to support and facilitate education initiatives by the Office of Inspector General, including permitting the Inspector General to send emails to all parish employees.
The Inspector General told the commission she had proposed a modest outreach plan of one image-based educational email per month to raise awareness about how to report fraud, waste and abuse, and to include basic red flags and reporting contacts. She said the parish president’s office, via COO Steve Leshute, told her the president found the idea "inappropriate," and that the administration tightly restricts mass emails to "all users." The IG said she followed up in writing and received no further email response, and that on the day of the meeting the parish president told her "my decision is final." (Exchange reported by the Inspector General during the meeting.)
Commissioners discussed alternative outreach methods but a commissioner proposed a resolution asking parish leadership to support the IG’s educational outreach and to enable the IG to communicate directly with employees. The resolution, read into the record, said in part: "permitting the Inspector General to send emails to all parish employees as proposed. Enabling the Inspector General to communicate directly with employees regarding fraud reporting is consistent with best practices and ethics and compliance and is fundamental to effective oversight." Commissioners moved, seconded and adopted the resolution by roll-call vote.
The commission’s action is advisory: commissioners said the body can recommend and urge the administration and council but lacks authority to compel the parish president or council to change email access policies. Commissioners suggested the resolution language be broad enough to support multiple outreach modalities while explicitly requesting the email access the IG proposed.
Next steps were limited to transmitting the adopted resolution and a cover letter to the parish president and parish council; the commission did not set a deadline for response at the meeting.
