Lafayette Parish Approves Overhaul of Preparedness Plan

(TNS) – The Lafayette Parish Council on Tuesday approved a modified proposal by Mayor-President Monique Boulet’s administration to overhaul the region’s emergency preparedness operations.

The ordinance, which was approved in a 4-1 vote, modifies this year’s fiscal budget by about $36,000 to create the Lafayette Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness division within the office of the mayor-president. The initial proposal, introduced July 2, included a director-level position and an emergency management officer, but the plan was voted down during a July 16 meeting.

The modified proposal, introduced Aug. 6, cut the lower-level position for the current fiscal year.

Council members Bryan Tabor, Donald Richard, AB Rubin and Ken Stansbury voted Tuesday to approve the ordinance. Council member John Guilbeau voted against, saying that his thoughts on the matter have been documented at prior meetings.

Guilbeau has questioned the rush to fund the new office in the middle of hurricane season and noted that while the plan was proposed as being budget neutral to the parish, it would come in at a higher cost than the existing plan, which the city contributes to. Stansbury during a July 16 meeting also questioned the original plan, which would have modified this year’s operating budget by about $78,000 to fund the creation of the office and two positions. Stansbury said the numbers weren’t adding up for how little time was left of this fiscal year, which ends in October.

Stansbury’s and Guilbeau’s votes against the original ordinance, along with Rubin’s absence from the July 16 meeting, sent the plan back to Boulet’s administration.

The mayor-president expressed gratitude after Tuesday’s meeting for the parish council’s approval of the modified plan. The search for a director to lead the new office will begin soon.

“I’m excited about that,” Boulet said. “That is an appointment, so we don’t have a formal process we have to follow, but we are going to open applications up for that over the next two weeks. So I would like to encourage anybody interested in applying.”

Emergency preparedness and response has been coordinated by the Lafayette Parish Communication District’s 911 division and funded equally by the city and parish. Boulet said a dedicated in-house department is needed to bring the parish’s emergency response capabilities up to the national standard. The new plan will be funded by the parish.

The proposed budget for next fiscal year, which begins Nov. 1, includes funding for a second position. The majority of the budgeted $223,000 would go toward salaries and benefits of two new full-time positions — the director and emergency management officer — with about $36,000 allocated for operational costs. Some of that cost is expected to be covered by a $77,000 grant from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

The difference between the existing emergency operations plan and the proposed plan outlined in next year’s budget, which goes before the council for final adoption Sept. 12, would come at an additional cost of about $73,000 to the parish.

Christina Dayries, the mayor-president’s chief of staff, has spent her career working in emergency preparedness and public safety, most recently serving as deputy director and chief of staff for GOHSEP. She said Lafayette’s proposed plan would come at a lower cost per capita than any other parish with a population greater than 100,000 residents.

In addition to hiring personnel to handle coordination and planning, plans for overhauling the parish’s system include the launch of a new local notification system, the creation of shelter and evacuation plans and an assessment of local infrastructure’s readiness. Boulet said the administration plans to release shelter and evacuation plans during this hurricane season.

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