Meetings
 
Agenda Item
Docket No. 17-398
 
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RE:
Advisory opinion request from the City of Mandeville regarding whether the Code of Governmental Ethics would prohibit Kieren Weldon or his architecture firm, Fauntleroy Latham Weldon Barre Architects, APC, from entering into a contract to supply architectural services for the remodeling of Mandeville City Hall.
Facts:
Advisory opinion request was submitted by the Mandeville City Attorney Edward Deano. Mr. Deano provided that Mr. Weldon was appointed by the Mayor to supply design review services as a member of the Mandeville Design Review Committee. The Design Review Committee would provide all design review services required by the City of Mandeville. In June of 2015, the Mandeville City Council abolished the Design Review Committee. Therefore, Mr. Weldon's professional services contract was terminated in June 2015. However, the Mandeville Comprehensive Land Use Regulation and certain other Mandeville Ordinances still require that certain projects have design review conducted.
Mr. Deano provided that since June of 2015, the architects who were previously appointed by the Mayor to conduct design review are now selected on an as needed basis by the Director of City Planning, Loisette Scott, to provide design review service on certain contracts. The architect is then compensated only for those services rendered on the specific project for which he was selected. Mr. Deano stated that Director Scott will not allow an architect to review his own architectural designs. He added that even when design review is mandated by ordinance, the architect does not have any power to implement his design as he is limited to giving advice only.
Further, Mr. Deano stated that Mr. Weldon has not provided any services on the remodeling of Mandeville City Hall. This project never appeared in front of the Design Review Committee. As a matter of fact, Mr. Weldon has only been selected on a few, limited occasions since June 2015, to provide compensated design review services and none of those projects involved the remodeling of City Hall.
Law:
La. R.S.42:1102(2)(a) defines "Agency" to mean a department, office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational unit of a governmental entity. La. R.S. 42:1102(3) defines "Agency head" to mean the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency or any member of a board or commission who exercises supervision over the agency.

La. R.S. 42:1102(18)(ii) defines "Public employee" to mean anyone, whether compensated or not, who is appointed by an elected official when acting in his official capacity, and the appointment is to a post or position wherein the appointee is to serve the governmental entity or an agency thereof, either as a member of the agency, or as an employee thereof.

La. R.S. 42:1102(19) defines "Public servant" to mean a public employee or an elected official.

La. R.S. 42:1121A(1) prohibits a former agency head, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service as the head of such agency from assisting another person for compensation, in a transaction, or appearance in a connection with a transaction, involving that agency or rendering any service on a contractual basis to that agency.

La. R.S. 42:1121A(2) prohibits a former member of a board, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service on such a board, from contracting with, being employed in any capacity, or by being appointed to any position by that board. La. R.S. 42:1121B(1) provides that no former public employee shall, for a period of two years following the termination of her public employment, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which he participated at any time during his public employment and involving his former governmental entity, by which he was formerly employed, or for a period of two years following termination of his public employment, from rendering any service which he had rendered to the agency during the term of his public employment on a contractual basis, regardless of the parties to the contract, to, for, or on behalf of his former agency.

Recommendations:
Adopt proposed advisory opinion.
Assigned Attorney: Suzanne Mooney
 
 
ATTACHMENTS:
Description:
2017-398- Draft opinion
2017-398 AOR