Ascension Parish could move a step closer tonight toward a rewrite of its Home Rule Charter that would include a provision for a parish-manager form of government.
A 12-member committee studying a rewrite of the parish government is meeting at 5 p.m. and among the items on its agenda is a recommendation by the business-led group A Better Ascension to change the parish form of government from one led by an elected parish president to one led by an appointed parish manager.
ABA and other advocates of rewriting the Home Rule Charter have been advocating in recent months for the parish-manager form of government, which they argue is more efficient, innovative and less susceptible to corruption. They’re hoping the parish council will approve placing the measure on the December ballot.
The chairman of the charter rewrite committee says while he believes Ascension Parish voters should be given the opportunity to vote on whether they want a parish manager form of government, he also thinks it’s too soon for his committee to sign off on a rewrite of the Home Rule Charter prepared by an outside special interest group like the ABA.
“I think it would be a disservice to the citizens to force feed an organization’s will of what the parish charter should look like on the people of Ascension,” says chairman Roy Quezaire Jr., a former state lawmaker. “I think the broader concept should be presented to the public first and let them decide whether they want an elected parish president or an appointed parish manager. So hopefully we can vet that out and get further clarity on that tonight.”
Also at tonight’s meeting, Quezaire’s committee will discuss asking the Ascension Parish Council for more time to come up with its recommendations for revising the charter. The parish council has to approve whatever the committee recommends and decide if and when to bring it to voters.
The council had originally given the committee a May 31 deadline for its recommendations. Quezaire says he doesn’t know how much more time the committee needs, whether it’s a matter of weeks or months. But he says there still should be plenty of time to complete its recommendations and get something on the ballot in time for the December election.
The committee meets at 5 p.m. at the Ascension Parish Courthouse Annex, 828 S. Irma Blvd., in Gonzales.
Read a recent Business Report feature on the efforts by ABA to change the form of government.
