Mayor grilled by committees at marathon Thursday meet

As the first year of the current administration closes, members of the Crowley City Council are questioning actions — and in some cases, non-actions — by the mayor and the administrative staff at city hall.
During a marathon five-plus-hour committee meetings session Thursday night (moved back one day because of the New Year holiday), Mayor Tim Monceaux was pelted with questions and comments from various aldermen, but primarily from Alderman Jeff Cavell, Ward 1, Division A.
All of the comments and requests for information were made during the “Discussion Item” segment of the various committee meetings. Thus, no action was required at Thursday’s meeting.
The various committee chairs delivered Cavell’s comments.
During the Public Works Committee meeting, Cavell pointed out that, a year into the current term, “the City still does not have an approved Street Commissioner.”
Monceaux’s recommendations for the post were repeatedly voted down by council members at the beginning of 2019.
Cavell requested the mayor provide the council with an up-to-date job description with the minimum allowable requirements and qualifications, as well as resumés of who he plans to appoint, verifying that such qualifications are satisfied.
Monceaux told the council that “Mr. Onezine was not confirmed, so, according to the law, I am continuing at this point with Mr. Onezine until further notice.”
Alderman Vernon “Step” Martin explained that in the state of Louisiana, a department head must be confirmed and that the mayor does not have the executive privilege to have someone in that position unless it is confirmed by the council. Martin said the title does not transfer because the mayor wants it to.
He asked what legal guidance the mayor has been using.
Monceaux answered that the Lawrason Act provides for the transfer.
Martin asked him where in the Lawrason Act does it state that the administrator can take it upon himself to keep a person in place that the council did not confirm.
Monceaux said he will have the answer “in writing” for Martin at a later date.
Alderman-at-large Steven Premeaux explained that if no one is confirmed by the council, that person stays in the position until an individual is confirmed by the council.
Also during the meeting of that committee, of which Clint Cradeur is chairman, Cavell, not a member of the committee, said he feels it is time the council acts on the issue of the city expending labor and equipment for the installation of culverts without reimbursement for such costs. He requested “a clear concise statement of a public purpose.”
Monceaux responded, “I spoke to Mr. Woody Woodruff, who said he met with [a few] council members and he is working on the particular opinion that you are requesting and said he would have it for you tomorrow.”
Cavell also asked for a status report on street signs, children-at-play signs and speed limit signs he said have been ordered for several months.
Alderman Brad Core, vice chairman, added that he would like an update on prior requests to inventory, purchase and replace missing street signs throughout the city.
Monceaux explained, that “children-at-play signs” were addressed a few months ago at all parks in Crowley. They have all been ordered and placed
As for speed limit signs, “We do have some and have ordered some (more) and we have put out the ones we did get.”
Martin stated that streets that are not properly labeled are a safety issue.
Numerous council members agreed that the street signs are vital for emergency workers to know where they are and this is a public safety issue. They also asserted that the missing street signs need to be replaced as soon as possible assuming revenue and finance approves it and sends the motion to the full council for a vote.
During the meeting of the Utility Committee, of which Cavell is a member, the councilman noted that he has seen work orders indicating that residents’ sewers are backing up in Ward I.
He questioned why this issue would exist “since we have not had a real bad rainfall” and “what is being done to correct it?”
Waste Water Superintendent Tim Cradeur explained that it can be multiple things — root intrusion, flushable wipes, diapers, kids’ toys, etc. “Anything that gets in the line that creates a snag, in time, will stop them up,” he said.
When notified, the city tries to rectify the situation, and under particular circumstances the home owner is contacted to remedy the problem.
Concerning sewer user fees, Cavell, requested copies of the annual reviews for the years 2012 through 2019. He asked that those reports be made available before the Jan. 8 regular meeting.
He also noted that those annual reviews, by ordinance, are due “on or before September 1st of each year” and that the 2019 report was received by the council on Dec. 26. He asked that the council be told why the report was not submitted in a timely fashion and “what are the consequences to the person charged with this responsibility.”
Though he is not a member of the Public Safety Committee, Cavell also questioned the mayor on a number of topics during that meeting.
The conversation blew up when the discussion of raising sewer user fees was brought up.
The council had mixed feelings on that issue. Monceaux, however, explained that the city must be brought up to compliance so that the sewer plant is not costing the city more than the user fees are paying.
Noting that Fire Chief Jody Viator had recently announced his retirement, Cavell requested an up-to-date job description with minimum allowable requirements and qualifications. He also asked that the council be provided, in advance, the resumé of who Monceaux will appoint, as well as the deciding factors for his appointment.
Monceaux did not have a recommendation for the position, nor one to serve as an interim fire chief.
Cavell also expressed concern about Code Enforcement, particularly a fence at the corner of North Parkerson Avenue and West Northern Avenue.
Cavell pointed out that city ordinance sets an 8-foot maximum height for fences and walls. He asked what controls are in place to make sure that such potential ordinance violations do not occur and how often or at what intervals of construction are inspections done on active building permits.
The City Inspector was not present for the meeting, however, and therefore no questions could be answered.
Cavell also requested full disclosure of the issues surrounding police body cameras, asking when they were purchased, how much they cost, how much is still owed and “who bound the city for their purchase?”
Alderman Brad Core, committee chair, requested that the council be informed of the reasons for non-payments for prior purchase of body cameras that have been used by the police department since 2017 and of the efforts to resolve past-due payments.
Despite many of the council hoping to send a check to the body camera company in good faith, City Attorney Tom Regan explained he is still in negotiations with the company.
Cavell requested a status report on properties that, by resolution, had been set for demolition at the Nov. 22 special meeting. He noted that two of the properties were given 15 days for demolition, two were granted five months for repair — “assuming they met the inspector’s criteria” — and one was given 30 days.
Monceaux updated the council that one of the homes has been demolished. However, due to the City Inspector’s absence, some questions were unable to be answered.
Finally, Cavell requested a status of the code enforcement citation book. He asked that the mayor “give the citizens of Crowley an answer as to why they are not having their codes enforced.”
He went on to discuss an ongoing issue that the city inspector needs code enforcement officers.
“As the chief of police has more than one officer to perform the work of his department, so should the city inspector have more than one code enforcement officer to assist him,” he said.
Cradeur requested an update on the proposed installation of cameras in high-crime areas of the city and on the registration of rental properties with inspection.
Monceaux explained that he would like to get with the council to make further plans to move forward with the purchase and installation of cameras.
Core also had a number of non-action items listed for discussion during his committee’s meeting, including:
• inconsistencies with payments to police officers, namely why payments vary when the same number of hours are worked (City workers explained that it’s the program that they use and the program rounds the cents up or down.);
• the reasons for late payments on purchases by the police department during 2019, including credit card statements, telephone services and others;
• a status report on repairs and demolitions to blighted properties and fire-damaged structures including requests/issuance of permits for repair and demolition;
• an update on additional structures that have been added to the list of blighted properties;
• having local building contractors, building inspectors, police officers and/or officials of the State Fire Marshal assist with inspection of blighted structures to determine if they are unsafe or uninhabitable;
• the possibility of entering into an agreement with the Acadia Parish Police Jury to use parish public works employees to assist with demolition of blighted properties; and
• the possibility of introducing an ordinance to install “speed lumps” on city streets to control speeding.
During the Public Buildings Committee meeting, Cavell requested discussion on the potential renting of the Wells Fargo Building.
The alderman said there have been several inquiries “and the only lackluster answer was there’s not a lease agreement.”
Since there is an agreement for other buildings, Cavell asked why not for the Wells Fargo Building, “as it could be a source of revenue for the city.”
He added that the city incurs costs for the building whether it is used or not.
Monceaux said he has people in city hall working on a rental agreement.
Alderwoman Kim Stringfellow, chair of the Insurance and Personnel Committee, requested an update from Monceaux on the Litter and Blight Committee members. She also submitted a request for an update on any personnel changes in the city. Stringfellow was not present for the meeting and Monceaux reported no personnel changes.
During the meeting of the Revenue and Finance Committee, of which Cavell is chairman, the alderman again peppered the mayor with requests.
First he asked for a listing of all monthly bills, their respective dates, their respective P.O.s (purchasing orders), their respective departments, purposes of indebtedness, vendor names and year-to-date totals of what has been paid to each.
Cavell noted that this had been requested for over a year and that the council has yet to receive such a report.
“For the purpose of transparency, we continue to request such information,” he said. “First, we were told it is not possible with the (computer) software, but yet we learn the software is not the problem and is widely used.
“So, if it isn’t the software, and not the users with the vast amount of experience they have, what is the problem?” he asked. “Are they being instructed not to provide the council this information?”
Cavell asked that Monceaux express to the citizens “why such inefficiency is taking place at city hall and provide the citizens with how and when he plans to put corrective actions into play.”
Next, Cavell requested monthly financials “in a timely manner,” adding that, as chairman, “receiving his information two months in arrears is unacceptable.”
He asked how it is that the council is provided a sales tax report, a sewer user fee report and a budget analysis that is “supposedly” up to date but not a financial report.
“Are these figures just for show or are they also two months old being shown as lost month’s figures?” he asked.
The alderman again asked the mayor to express to the citizens “why such inefficiency is taking place at city hall and provide the citizens with how and when he plans to put corrective actions into play.”
Cavell also asked why, four months into the fiscal year, the council does not have a published/printed budget.
He again ended with the inefficiency-and-corrective-actions request to the mayor.
Finally, Cavell asked that the mayor provide the council with information on any salary increases granted since Oct. 1, 2019, the start of the new fiscal year. He also requested that the mayor “quantify and qualify his rationale for any increases.”
Closing the marathon session Thursday night, Core requested a list summarizing all current lawsuits against the city of Crowley, including the names of plaintiffs, dates suits were filed, monetary amounts of types of demands, summaries of actions take to resolve matters and legal costs to the city to date.
Regan advised the council to discuss law suits in executive session.