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Bogalusa council debates ordinance to recoup employee overpayments amid calls for more detail
Summary
Council introduced an ordinance to authorize identification and recoupment of employee overpayments, citing a state recommendation; public commenters and some council members pressed for records and legal review, including concerns about $468,000 tied to ARPA funds and whether the policy is retroactive.
The City of Bogalusa council introduced an ordinance intended to establish procedures to identify and recover employee overpayments and to mandate internal controls to prevent future overpayments. Council members cited a recommendation from a state office and referenced a statute number in the draft ordinance.
Public commenters and multiple council members questioned the ordinance’s scope and whether it would be retroactive. A resident who identified themselves by address urged the council to ensure the city “protect the little money that we do have” and said the city must hold people accountable for misuse; Terry Quinn asked how far back the recoupment could go, telling the council it should not pursue decades-old claims without clarity. Council members repeatedly requested a list of alleged overpayments and the source of those payments before any vote.
Councilwoman Smith (first referenced as Councilwoman Smith) told the council she had not seen a list of who was overpaid and pressed for documentation before action. Smith also explained that some payments referenced in discussion (for example, vacation payouts and overtime) can be lawful under union contracts or state law and said the city needs clearer facts before authorizing clawbacks. “If you don’t use it, you lose it,” Smith said in describing how some vacation-payout practices were already being addressed by prior administrative rules.
Speakers raised a specific figure tied to federal relief funds: one attendee said the fiscal documents reference roughly $468,000 in payments tied to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and urged the council to recover any improperly used federal dollars before the federal reporting deadline. Council members and commenters also expressed concern that the current draft ordinance is vague about how much could be withheld from an employee’s paycheck at one time and asked for explicit limits and procedures to protect employees’ basic income.
Multiple participants recommended the council not vote on the ordinance until it receives legal guidance and a public-records list of alleged overpayments. Several speakers suggested executive session with the city attorney to review individual cases and to prepare amendments addressing retroactivity, withholding limits, and department-specific procedures. The council did not adopt the ordinance at the meeting and signaled it would return the item for further review and possible amendment.
Next steps: council members asked staff to provide records and to coordinate with legal counsel; a follow-up discussion or executive session was proposed for the next meeting cycle.
