Jefferson Parish’s contracting desperately needs reform, watchdog says

Despite a litany of reforms after scandal unraveled Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard’s administration, the Jefferson Parish Council still has too much authority to award contracts to political insiders, the Bureau of Government Research says in a new report. As The Times-Picayune reports, the nonprofit watchdog blasted the latitude that council members wield when choosing which firms get professional service contracts. Often the jobs don’t go to the most qualified companies but rather to those that make significant donations to council members’ campaigns, BGR’s report says. “The result is an idiosyncratic process that some perceive to be driven more by personal political relationships than by what makes the most sense for taxpayers,” the report states. “There is no reason for giving any elected official—whether it be a council member or the chief executive—such expansive power over contractor selection.” Council Chairman Elton Lagasse dismisses BGR’s conclusion, saying he wouldn’t cede the council’s authority to select contractors. BGR used the boondoggle surrounding the Jefferson Performing Arts Center in Metairie as a prime example. In that case, a $26 million project ballooned to $44 million because of what the parish says are mistakes made by the original architect, Wisznia & Associates. Wisznia was the fourth-ranked firm among the contenders wanting the job, but then-Councilman John Lavarine Jr. gave it the contract, later telling the state legislative auditor that Wisznia was the only firm to approach him directly about getting the job. Read the full story here; and see the BGR’s complete 20-page report here.