Coastal advocacy group survives council’s wrath

A Lafourche Parish councilman’s attempt to recoup $20,000 from a coastal restoration advocacy organization failed by a 5-4 vote last week following a contentious and personal debate.

Councilmen Joe Fertitta, Jerry LaFont, Daniel Lorraine and Lindel Toups voted in favor of pulling the allotment from Restore or Retreat, which monitors and advocates for restoration projects in the Barataria and Terrebonne basins.

The council authorized the funding last month by a 6-2-1 vote. Lorraine and Fertitta opposed the agreement, and Toups was absent.

Lorraine authored the motion from the floor after a heated debate over the private non-profit organization’s merits. Discussion centered on figures provided by internal auditor Tommy Lasseigne.

Restore or Retreat Executive Director Simone Maloz sat through the four-hour meeting, yet was not offered the opportunity to address the council’s concerns.

The organization ended 2011 with a $412,000 fund balance, according to a report filed with the state’s legislative auditor. The organization took in $155,000 and spent $130,000 over the course of the year.

Of the organization’s intake, $66,000 was member dues, $44,000 was government contributions and $43,000 was fundraising gains.

Lasseigne’s presentation covered similar numbers but did not compare revenue versus expenditures over the course of the year and did not break down the revenue stream. He did say the council has approved allocations to ROR totaling $255,000 since 2004.

The parish’s internal auditor also focused on Maloz’s $84,000 salary and car allowance and the $7,000 the organization spent on “special events.”

Lorraine seized on the presentation and during a winding speech said the parish shouldn’t finance private non-profit organizations, particularly those that spend most of their money on one person’s salary and “parties.” He sarcastically invited all private non-profit organizations in the parish to come before the council and ask for money.

“I don’t want to see the hard work of a lot of people be disparaged by a buffoon,” Randolph said after Lorraine’s extended argument. The parish president later apologized to the council and to Lorraine.

The party Lorraine referenced was the annual Barnstorming to Save Our Coast fundraising event held in Lockport. It raised more than $30,000 in 2010, according to Maloz.

Hurricane Isaac illustrated the importance of restoring Louisiana’s basins, as intruding surge in the Barataria Basin was blamed for flood concerns in north Lafourche Parish.

The battle to do so is multi-layered at differing levels of government, and the milestones aren’t always easily identifiable, Maloz said after the meeting. Projects large and small must clear local, state and federal checkpoints, and ROR offers a coordinated effort with all of its stakeholders’ concerns in mind, she said.

She said Lafourche and Terrebonne have been “proactive” toward coastal issues, a serious approach that has helped her organization

“Now more than ever, we need that leadership,” Maloz said. “We depend on that leadership.”

As for what ROR offers to the parish, Maloz said most progress is made out of the public spotlight. As an example, she said the organization’s letter of comments regarding the state’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan had 16 signatures, including local chambers of commerce and industrial groups.

“We write those letters, and we ask for those $50 million (commitments),” she said. “Sometimes it is a landowner (property rights) or sometimes it is a misunderstanding. Sometimes it’s calling them out on project delays.

“I regret that it had to play out like that, but we’re pretty sure that our work would speak for itself. We have no problems going to the council or our membership to talk about what we’ve done.”

Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government donated $15,000 in 2010 and $13,500 in 2011 to ROR.