St. Martinville residents to vote on changing 19th-century government structure
ST. MARTINVILLE, La. (KLFY) -- Residents of the City of St. Martinville will have the opportunity to vote to change the way their local government operates.
The existing legislative charter has been in place in St. Martinville since 1898. St. Martinville currently operates under a special legislative charter, one of 24 cities in Louisiana with this type of governance.
The city's charter contains provisions that conflict with mandatory laws such as the Open Meetings Law and Election Code.
This comes after the St. Martinville City Council recently held a meeting where council members voted to allow residents to decide whether to keep the current charter of government or switch to the Lawrason Act.
The Lawrason Act is a state law that provides for a Mayor-Board of Aldermen form of government, which is used in nearly 250 cities and towns in Louisiana.
St. Martinville Mayor Jason Willis said the current legislative charter has drawn criticism, as it does not provide an adequate separation of powers between the mayor and city council.
"A lot of stuff is quiet in our charter," Willis said. "It dosen't really define who has the authority to do this and do that, it makes each other cross each other lane, it brings a lot of conflict and we can't be productive with that."
Willis says this act would establish distinct roles for council members and the mayor, clarifying who holds authority on certain duties.
"The mayor will still have to operate under a budget that the council approves, the council will still approve every ordinance, the council will still approve every resolution, so it's still checks and balances," Willis said. "It just allows the mayor to actually do his work as a mayor with the people who elected him."
The City of St. Martinville will host town hall meetings at the Adam Carlson Recreation Center on March 6 and Magnolia Park Recreational Center on March 11, both at 6 p.m., to discuss the Lawrason Act ordinance.
Citizens will have the opportunity to vote on this decision on May 3.
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