| Advisory Opinion request from CSRS, Inc. in connection with a subcontract for the Office of Community Development - Disaster Recovery Unit. |
|
On November 14, 2017, Pan American Engineers, LLC ("Pan American") entered into a Professional Services Contract with the Louisiana Office of Community Development - Disaster Recovery Unit ("OCD"). On January 24, 2018, Pan American entered into a subcontract with CSRS to assist with grant management services in connection with OCD's Community Development Block Grant ("CDBG") Disaster Recovery Programs related to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike, the floods of 2016, and future disasters.
On May 3, 2018, Revision 1 to the Pan American subcontract with CSRS required CSRS to provide executive staff augmentation services and such personnel as necessary to provide executive staff services to OCD. Stacy Bonnaffons, an employee of CSRS, was assigned as temporary Chief of Staff for OCD until July 15, 2018, when her service was discontinued and the chief of staff position was abolished through the hiring of a Chief Operations Officer by OCD. Ms. Bonnaffons remains an employee of CSRS as a Program Manager in connection with the disaster recovery programs, in particular, the 2016 flood recovery program, "Restore Louisiana."
In October of 2018, OCD entered into an unrelated contract with The Compass Group Affordable Housing, LLC ("Compass Group") to provide policy and finance advisory services related to affordable, multi-family housing in support of the investment of CDBG funds into various multifamily rental housing programs, including the Piggyback Program, which combines CDBG loans with Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity. The Compass Group provides OCD with advisory services related to government regulations, financing structures, and housing policy issues, including affordability, disaster resilience, and other key outcomes.
Compass Group seeks to engage CSRS to supplement their services to OCD. These affordable housing services have no connection to the disaster recovery services provided by CSRS to Pan American and CSRS had no involvement in preparing the Request for Proposal which led to the contract between Compass Group and OCD. Additionally, Ms. Bonnaffons did not participate in the contract between Compass Group and OCD and Ms. Bonnaffons provided no services to OCD as interim Chief of Staff in connection with the affordable housing services to be provided in the potential subcontract between CSRS and Compass Group. Finally, Ms. Bonnaffons is not rendering the same services to CSRS as a Program Manager as the services she rendered to OCD as interim Chief of Staff.
|
|
La. R.S. 42:1113A(1)(a) provides that n
o public servant, excluding any legislator and any appointed member of any board or commission and any member of a governing authority of a parish with a population of ten thousand or less, or member of such a public servant's immediate family, or legal entity in which he has a controlling interest shall bid on or enter into any contract, subcontract, or other transaction that is under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant.
La. R.S. 42:1102(19) defines "public servant" as a public employee or an elected official.
La. R.S. 42:1102(18)(a)(iii) defines "public employee" as anyone, whether compensated or not, who is engaged in the performance of a governmental function.
Docket No. 2009-378: Board defined "governmental function" as a government agency's conduct that is expressly or impliedly mandated or authorized by law that is carried out for the benefit of the general public. Board concluded that the agency of a contractor, who was a public employee by virtue of performing a governmental function through the contract, was limited in purpose to the scope of the contract.
Docket No. 2017-887: The Board concluded that CSRS was not prohibited by Section 1112 from providing grant management services to recovery efforts for which it did not provide contractor services.
La. R.S. 42:1112A prohibits a public servant from participating in a transaction in which he has substantial economic interest.
La. R.S. 42:1102(21) defines "substantial economic interest" as an economic interest which is of greater benefit to the public servant or other person than to a general class or group of persons.
La. R.S. 42:1121B provides no former public employee shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public employment, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which such former public employee participated at any time during his public employment and involving the governmental entity by which he was formerly employed, or for a period of two years following the termination of his public employment, render, any service which such former public employee 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 the agency with which he was formerly employed.
La. R.S. 42:1121C provides:
No legal entity in which a former public servant is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which such public servant at any time participated during his public service and involving the agency by which he was formerly employed or in which he formerly held office.
|
|
|
Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
|
|
| Assigned Attorney: |
David Bordelon |
|
|