On the agenda Tuesday evening for the Lafayette City-Parish Council will be a vote on whether to authorize a March 27, 2010 election to renew a property tax millage funding the Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water District, a little-known, six-member government body created in 1969 to ensure a fresh water supply in Bayou Teche and the Vermilion River. The agency comprises members appointed by parish governments in Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin and Vermilion parishes. The commission is a member of the Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana.
A 2008 audit released last May by Broussard, Poche, Lewis & Breaux, a Lafayette accounting firm, finds the district with net assets of $5,027,207 against total expenses of $2,073,373. The audit also “identified a certain deficiency in internal control over financial reporting that we consider to be a significant deficiency,” citing an absence of “adequate segregation of duties” due to the lack of employees. The audit warns that such a deficiency could lead to inaccurate financial reporting.
Each parish council or police jury in the parishes that comprise the Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water District must vote to authorize the election next year.
Among other items on the agenda, the council will vote on revisions to the separate pay plans for the City Marshal’s Office, the Lafayette Police Department and the Lafayette Fire Department, as well as authorizing City-Parish President Joey Durel to enter into inter-governmental agreements with other cities and towns in Lafayette Parish for animal-control operations.