SUCCETTE LITIGATION

​

On February 5, Judge Brandon Long dismissed with prejudice the final remaining claim brought by Woodward Harbor, LLC/LSU Health Foundation against the City of Mandeville over Succette. For me, that ruling represented more than the end of another battle over massive development on Mandeville’s Lakefront. It was a victory for every citizen who volunteers to serve their community in elected office and should be able to do so without fear of personal retaliation or intimidation.

​

Woodward Harbor/LSU Health Foundation is currently appealing the dismissal against the City, and that appeal continues through the federal courts, adding to the hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars already spent defending this litigation. However, they did not appeal the dismissal of the claims against me personally. That chapter is over. 

 

Mandeville taxpayers have every reason to be frustrated by the enormous expense this litigation has imposed on our City. Judge Long rejected the arguments advanced against the City and me and, in his final ruling, sharply criticized the plaintiffs’ use of AI-generated legal research, including citations to “hallucinated cases” that “do not exist,” as well as inaccurate descriptions of cases and their facts.

​

The City continues to actively pursue reimbursement of the hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars spent defending the City and me.

​

I took the positions I did because I believed they were right for Mandeville and because the citizens I represent spoke loudly and clearly. I had an obligation to represent the people who placed their trust in me. In my opinion, the decision to target me personally was retaliation intended not only to intimidate me, but to send a message to future Council Members who might stand in the way of similar development.

 

As a Catholic, I forgive those involved. My faith calls me to do so. I wish them well, and I sincerely hope lessons were learned from an ordeal that caused tremendous expense to Mandeville taxpayers and unnecessary pain to me and my family.

​

There is, however, a lasting positive outcome. Judge Long’s rulings—including the dismissal of the claims against me individually—provide important precedent protecting elected officials who act in good faith on behalf of their constituents. Hopefully, that precedent will make others think twice before attempting to use litigation to intimidate public officials in Mandeville, elsewhere in Louisiana, or anywhere in the country.

 

​

LEGISLATION

​​

IT HAS BEEN A HUGE YEAR FOR LEGISLATION I HAVE AUTHORED!!!!

 

Ordinance 26-02 now requires any proposed property rezoning, conditional use permits, and requests for development of Planned Districts to first be presented to the City Council for introduction as an Ordinance before the application (and Ordinance) is referred to Planning & Zoning for hearings and their recommendation back to the Council. This directly addresses and remedies the issue of Ordinances for proposed property rezoning, conditional use permits, and requests for development of Planned Districts not being consistent with or containing additional details not considered before the Planning & Zoning Commission when it arrives at the Council for consideration.

​

Ordinance 26-03 clarifies and reinforces what I strongly believe the CLURO already requires with regard to the application of site development regulations for individual uses within mixed use developments. That is that when calculating allowable building areas, number of units allowed, maximum impervious areas, etc., only the area of the site designated for each use within the mixed-use site can be used in those calculations. Additionally, areas of sites extending into and under Lake Pontchartrain or other water bodies cannot be used in those calculations. These clarifications will prevent loose interpretations of existing provisions in the future and prevent overdevelopment when multiple uses are proposed on a single piece of property by using the entire property size, which may be taken up with other uses, to increase density beyond what would be allowed by the CLURO if a single use was proposed for the entire site.

​

Ordinance 26-09 now requires that any Traffic Impact Analysis required by the CLURO for rezoning, conditional use permits, etc. will be contracted directly by the City, with costs paid by the applicants. The Planning Department, Public Works, and the City Engineer will now have the opportunity to develop a complete and proper scope for Traffic Impact Analyses when required for the Commission and City Council to rely upon instead of applicants finding their own consultants and presenting an incomplete traffic study that omits important criteria that may be necessary to properly evaluate impacts.

​

These three ordinances all passes the City Council UNANIMOUSLY with 5-0 votes.

 

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!!!

​

Two key pieces of fiscal legislation authored by me passed by a 4-1 vote of the City Council establishing formal fiscal policies for the City of Mandeville. This has never been done before in our city's history.

​

Ordinance 26-16 establishes by law an absolute minimum projected General Fund balance. With the passage of this ordinance, no Council can approve budgets projecting an end-of-year General Fund balance of less than 20% of the City's annual operating expenses unless they first change the law. That minimum is actually higher than the level recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association for municipalities like ours.

​

Resolution 26-25, also passed by a 4-1 vote establishes, for the upcoming Fiscal Year 26-27 budget, a target year-end General Fund balance of between 30% and 40% of the City's annual recurring expenditures. That target is double the minimum now required by law and more than double the level recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association.

​

For years, we've all sat through annual budget hearings where the Council and citizens expressed concerns about the City's unrestricted General Fund balance—both current and projected—and for good reason.

​

For the first time ever we have established by law an absolute minimum projected General Fund balance for all future budgets. And, through my Resolution, we have also established what that projected ending balance should be for this coming fiscal year—twice that minimum threshold.

​

Again, both measures were approved by four of the five members of the Council with only Council Member Discon voting against.

​

We simply could not continue passing annual budgets or making decisions about spending, spending cuts, staffing, personnel, capital projects, millages, and other financial priorities without a formalized fiscal policy.  These measures will now require both the Administration and the Council to make the difficult financial decisions that will inevitably be necessary in the years ahead.

​

Additionally, by establishing this year's target General Fund balance prior to budget hearings, the Council has been able to focus its attention on the actual budget line items instead of debating what the General Fund balance should be. 

​​

My hope is that future Councils will continue this practice by adopting a General Fund balance policy through resolution before each annual budget process begins.

​

I believe this is a major step forward in maintaining Mandeville's fiscal strength, and I sincerely thank the Council Members who supported these measures with their votes.