LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - The first in a series of six town-hallmeetings on the pros and cons of Lafayette Consolidated Governmentdrew a crowd that demanded a public vote on whether to return toseparate city and parish governments. The City-Parish Council has been debating whether to allowvoters a say on returning to the two separate governments thatexisted before consolidation in 1996. A few voices at the Monday meeting were willing to giveconsolidation more time, but the overwhelming tone among about 50residents was to break it apart. The group of mainly Lafayette city residents complained of asystem in which council members who are elected by people in ruralareas of the parish have too much authority over affairs within thecity limits. "Lafayette will never have true autonomy under the form ofgovernment as it exists," lawyer Glenn Lazard said. Of Lafayette's nine-member City-Parish Council, five membersserve mainly city districts and four serve districts largelyoutside the city limits. But the full nine-member council votes on several issues thataffect only the city, including the budgets of the Police and FireDepartments, all matters involving Lafayette's public utility, andhow to spend tax money collected only within the city and dedicatedto city projects. Resident Wallace Senegal said consolidation has effectivelydiluted the voting strength of city residents. He called for apublic referendum on consolidation "so we can control our moneybetter than the way it is being controlled now." The City-Parish Council was scheduled to vote earlier this monthon whether to put deconsolidation on the November ballot, but thecouncil has deferred action and it is unclear when or if themeasure might be decided. The four councilmen who represent largely rural areas have allsaid they are wary of moving forward so quickly on deconsolidation,which could leave the unincorporated areas of the parish strugglingto provide services with limited revenues from a weak rural taxbase. At least one of the rural council votes is needed to putdeconsolidation on the ballot because a measure to repeal theconstitution-like city-parish charter requires six of the ninecouncil members to agree. Councilman Don Bertrand, who represents a city district,supports putting deconsolidation on the ballot, but he told thecrowd Monday that more time is needed to prepare for a transition. If voters were allowed in November to vote yes or no ondeconsolidation, the separate city and parish governments wouldrevert to antiquated structures that have not been updated sincethe early 1990s, he said.
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