‘It’s kind of cleanup work’: Lafayette Mayor President talks first 100 days in office
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)– This week, Lafayette Mayor President Monique Blanco Boulet released a 100 days report to show the public what she and her administration have been working on.
Standing aside the new city-parish attorney and chief financial officer, Blanco Boulet said putting together her team has been a big part of her first few months in office.
“They were able to really get in here, hit out the ground running, put out fires that were not necessary, and I think settle down some of the things that needed to be settled down,” she said.
According to the report, the city-parish attorney has already dismissed several lawsuits filed by LCG in an effort to reduce legal fees. Blanco Boulet’s administration is also taking a hard look at LCG’s 2022 and 2023 audit findings and the use of restricted funding.
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“The question that came into play was there was city money that was spent in the parish. The other issue was that that money stemmed from a sales tax, which by its nature is restricted,” LCG Chief Financial Officer Karen Fontenot said.
The report also touches on correcting millions of dollars lost in a massive drainage project in Bayou Vermilion.
“The way I see it, it’s our job to understand where we sit today with all of the projects and issues and concerns and figure out the healthiest path forward for the city and the parish,” Blanco Boulet added.
She’s also working to rebuild trust between the public and police. In the future, she hopes to focus on projects like housing, parks, raising police and firemen salaries and building a new parish jail to face the overcrowding issue. Right now, however, her administration is focusing on “cleaning up” LCG.
“Does it take us six months? Does it take us a whole year? Some people say, ‘I don’t want to spend a whole year doing this.’ the mayor-president said. “It’s kind of cleanup work, but the reality is we’ve got to stabilize all of these things. That’s where we sit today.”
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