OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAFOURCHE PARISH CIVIL SERVICE BOARD MEETING OF JANUARY 16, 2013

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1 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAFOURCHE PARISH CIVIL SERVICE BOARD MEETING OF JANUARY 16, 2013 The Civil Service Board of the Lafourche Parish Government met in regular session at its regular meeting place the Lafourche Parish Government Complex, 402 Green Street, Thibodaux, Louisiana, on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at six (6:00) o clock p.m., pursuant to the provisions of a notice of regular session duly promulgated and posted in accordance with the law. Mrs. Joyce Leonard, Vice Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. PRESENT: ABSENT: Mrs. Joyce Leonard, Vice-Chair Mr. Lloyd Robinson Mrs. Avie Fontenot Mr. Marcel Lovelace, Chair Mr. Glenn Chance With their being three (3) Board members present, it was concluded that a quorum was present. Also in attendance were Mrs. Sheila B. Boudreaux, Civil Service Director, Miss Jill Naquin, Civil Service Clerk, Mrs. Kristy Chiasson, Human Resources Manager, Councilman Jerry Jones, Mr. Horace Logan Banks, Jr., Mr. Larry Sorohan, Attorney representing the Administration, Mr. Philip Spence, Attorney representing Mr. Logan Banks, and a representative of the Daily Comet. ELECTION OF OFFICERS The first and second item on the agenda was the nomination and appointment of a Chairman and Vice-Chair for Mr. Marcel Lovelace was nominated as Chairman and Mrs. Joyce Leonard was nominated as Vice-Chair for A motion was offered by Mr. Lloyd Robinson, seconded by Mrs. Avie Fontenot and unanimously carried, Mr. Marcel Lovelace was appointed as Chairman and Mrs. Joyce Leonard was appointed as Vice-Chair. APPROAL OF MINUTES Item 3 on the agenda was the acceptance of minutes from the November 14, 2012 meeting. A motion was offered by Mrs. Avie Fontenot, seconded by Mr. Lloyd Robinson and unanimously carried, to accept the November 14, 2012 minutes as presented. Item 4 on the agenda was the acceptance of minutes from the December 12, 2012 meeting. A motion was offered by Mr. Lloyd Robinson, seconded by Mrs. Avie Fontenot and unanimously carried, to accept the December 12, 2012 minutes as presented. EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION APPEAL HEARINGS Item 5 on the agenda was Docket No. PE , Rocky Rodrigue vs. Lafourche Parish Government Department of Public Works (DPW), appealing automatic satisfactory performance evaluation score. No action was taken due to Mr. Rodrigue not in attendance of his appeal hearing.

2 The next item was Docket No. PE , Tracy Thibodaux vs. Lafourche Parish Government Department of Public Works (DPW), appealing automatic satisfactory performance evaluation score. No action was taken due to Mr. Thibodaux not in attendance of his appeal hearing. Item 7 was Docket No. PE , Faye Smith vs. Lafourche Parish Government Finance Department, appealing automatic satisfactory performance valuation score. Mrs. Faye Smith addressed the Board stating that her 2012 evaluation was not performed by her then supervisor, the Finance Director, who no longer works with the parish. She asked the Board to allow the Parish Administrator to perform her evaluation even though it is late. The next item was Docket No. PE , Carl Dupre vs. Lafourche Parish Government Permit Department, appealing automatic satisfactory performance evaluation score. Mr. Carl Dupre addressed the Board stating that his 2012 evaluation was submitted late and asked the Board to grant his score instead of an automatic satisfactory. The Board questioned Mr. Dupre s supervisor, Ms. Adrianne Labat, for justification why the evaluation was submitted late. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board then proceeded to Item 9 and entered into Executive Session to discuss the following appeals: Docket No. PE , Faye Smith vs. Lafourche Parish Government Finance Department Docket No. PE , Carl Dupre vs. Lafourche Parish Government Permit Department ACTION FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board reconvened its meeting and took the following action: A motion was offered by Mr. Lloyd Robinson, seconded by Mrs. Avie Fontenot and unanimously carried, to take the following action: Docket No. PE , Faye Smith vs. LPG Finance Department was granted her 2011 performance evaluation score of 79%, Very Good, to be recorded as her 2012 performance evaluation score. Docket No. PE , Carl Dupre vs. LPG Permit Department was granted his 2012 performance evaluation score of 85%, Excellent, to be recorded as his 2012 performance evaluation score. EMPLOYEE APPEAL HEARING *Please note that according to Rule 4.13 of Section 4 of Chapter II of the Civil Service Manual, the Civil Service Board shall not be required to have the testimony taken at a hearing transcribed, but either the employee or the appointing authority may, at its own expense, make the necessary arrangements therefor. Item 11 was Docket No , Horace Logan Banks, Jr. vs. Lafourche Parish Government (LPG), appealing termination. Mrs. Leonard announced that all individuals who were subpoenaed will need to wait in the lobby until called upon. Due to burden of proof shall be on the Appointing Authority, Mr. Larry Sorohan, Attorney representing the Administration, gave a synopsis of what is the job of a Public Information Officer (PIO), the position Mr. Banks previously held with the LPG. He stated that part of Mr. Banks job was to provide accurate public press releases in a timely fashion and is paramount during an emergency. Prior to Hurricane Isaac, Mr. Banks had developed a pattern of problematic behavior with respect to the core functions of his job press releases, website, and overall job LAFOURCHE PARISH CIVIL SERVICE MEETING Page - 2 -

3 performance leading up to the emergency situation that transpired during Hurricane Isaac. Mr. Sorohan further stated that during the emergency his job performance suffered getting out timely press releases, keeping the web updated, and the final straw was when he provided information to the newspaper without first getting approval from the Parish President which contradicted the message that was being given to the Governor about the situation with the levee system in Lafourche Parish which lead to his termination. Mrs. Joyce Leonard asked if he was terminated on September 1 st and Mr. Sorohan concurred in the affirmative. She further stated that the Board does not currently have a copy of his performance evaluation. Mr. Sorohan stated that an evaluation was given to Mr. Banks at 6-months with a recommendation to extend his probationary period; however, for technical reasons the extension of his probation did not go into effect. Mrs. Leonard reiterated that whether or not the evaluation was submitted late, the Board still did not have a copy of the evaluation, and according to previous conversation, a copy is not in his employee file. Mr. Sorohan began by calling upon Mrs. Charlotte Randolph, Parish President, as his first witness. Mrs. Randolph gave testimony as she was questioned at length by Mr. Sorohan and Mr. Philip Spence, Attorney representing Logan Banks. The following individuals were called upon as witnesses by Mr. Larry Sorohan (Administration s Attorney): ~ Mrs. Crystal Chiasson, former Parish Administrator ~ Mr. Chris Boudreaux, Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Director ~ Miss Gretchen Folse, Information Technology Manager ~ Mr. Kerry Babin, Department of Public Works Director ~ Mr. Brennan Matherne, Lafourche Parish Sheriff s Office, former LPG Public Information Officer. Mr. Matherne was represented by LPSO Legal Counsel The following individuals were called upon as witnesses by Mr. Philip Spence (Mr. Banks Attorney): ~ Lt Danny Eschete, Deputy Commander, Support Division, Lafourche Parish Sheriff s Office. Lt. Eschete was represented by LPSO Legal Counsel ~ Lt Nolan Smith, Supervisor School Service, Lafourche Parish Sheriff s Office. Lt. Smith was represented by LPSO Legal Counsel ~ Mr. George Randolph, spouse of Parish President Charlotte Randolph ~ Horace Logan Banks, Jr. The following documents were entered into evidence: ~ Exhibit 1 Copies of Horace L. Banks, Jr. subpoenaed Human Resource file ~ Exhibit 2 - Copies of WEBEOC transactions during Hurricane Isaac ~ Exhibit 3 Copy of posting on August 31, 2012 from wwltv.com regarding no levee breach in Kraemer ~ Exhibit 4 Affidavit from Mr. Keith Magill, Executive Editor of the Houma Courier ~ Exhibit 5 from Crystal Chiasson, former Parish Administrator, to Logan Banks dated August 31, 2012 regarding distribution sites open in Lafourche Parish ~ Exhibit 6 from Crystal Chiasson, former Parish Administrator, to Parish President Charlotte Randolph dated August 31, 2012 regarding Google alert Lafourche Parish ~ Exhibit 7 Logan Banks notes dated August 30 th and 31 st regarding levee situation ~ Exhibit 8 Affidavit of attorney fees and costs ~ Exhibit 9 Copy of Crystal Chiasson, former Parish Administrator, subpoenaed notes LAFOURCHE PARISH CIVIL SERVICE MEETING Page - 3 -

4 EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board entered into Executive Session to discuss Docket No , Horace Logan Banks, Jr. vs. Lafourche Parish Government (LPG). ACTION FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION The Board reconvened its meeting and offered a motion by Mr. Lloyd Robinson, seconded by Mrs. Avie Fontenot and unanimously carried, to close the appeal hearing and defer a decision to February 6, PUBLIC HEARING A motion was offered by Mrs. Avie Fontenot, seconded by Mr. Lloyd Robinson and unanimously carried, to hold a public hearing to discuss the following matters: ~ratification of amendments to the Summary of Pay Ranges by Grade as adopted by the Lafourche Parish Council. ~Addition of a Pumpers Pay Scale RESOLUTIONS A motion was offered by Mr. Lloyd Robinson, seconded by Mrs. Avie Fontenot and unanimously carried, to adopted Resolution CS ratifying the Summary of Pay Ranges by Grade as adopted by the Lafourche Parish Council; and authorizing said amendments to Chapter IV, Salary Plan, in the Civil Service manual (Item 15); and Resolution CS amending Chapter IV, Salary Plan in the Civil Service manual to add a new pumper s pay scale (Item 16). NEW BUSINESS A motion was offered by Mrs. Avie Fontenot, seconded by Mr. Lloyd Robinson and unanimously carried, to proceed to public hearing at next available meeting with the following items: Item 17 - amending Human Resources Clerk III job description Item 18 amending Human Resources Manager job description Item 19 adding an Assistant Human Resources job description OTHER BUSINESS Item 20 on the agenda was confirmation of the next meeting date. It was decided that the next scheduled Civil Service Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. With no further business to discuss, a motion was offered by Mr. Lloyd Robinson, seconded by Mrs. Avie Fontenot and carried, that the meeting of the Civil Service Board adjourned at 11:00 p.m. /s/ Joyce Leonard Joyce Leonard, Vice-Chairman Civil Service Board LAFOURCHE PARISH CIVIL SERVICE MEETING Page - 4 -

5 /s/ Sheila B. Boudreaux Sheila B. Boudreaux Director of Civil Service ******* I, SHEILA B. BOUDREAUX, Civil Service Director for the Lafourche Parish Government, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the January 16, 2013 minutes adopted by the assembled Board in regular session on February 6, 2013, at which meeting a quorum was present. GIVEN UNDER MY OFFICIAL SIGNATURE AND SEAL OF OFFICE THIS ON THE 7 th, DAY OF February, /s/ Sheila B. Boudreaux Sheila B. Boudreaux Director of Civil Service LAFOURCHE PARISH CIVIL SERVICE MEETING Page - 5 -

STATE OF LOUISIANA PARISH OF LAFOURCHE PUBLIC NOTICE

STATE OF LOUISIANA PARISH OF LAFOURCHE PUBLIC NOTICE February 8, 2012 Lafourche Parish Civil Service Board Members Lafourche Parish Government Employees Lafourche Parish Council Members Lafourche Parish