Monday, October 23, 2006
How are public funds being used?
ADVERTISER EDITORIAL
(excerpt)
From what The Advertiser has learned of spending by the airport commission and the city-parish council, it appears both bodies need to develop a firm policy to guide the use of taxpayer dollars. Both were found to be spending money on items that, based on opinions from the state attorney general's office, may be improper.
Purchase of beads to be thrown from floats in Mardi Gras parades and funding a Christmas party were among Consolidated Council expenditures that raised questions.
It is essential that public bodies in Lafayette avoid even the vaguest appearance of improper use of public funds. We already suffer from the state's long-held reputation for questionable spending. It has been a deterrent to economic development. The political environment is a consideration of those businesses seeking new locations or attractive areas for expansion.
Lafayette has kept its reputation clean and has been able to overcome that of the state in competing for new business and industry.
We need to keep it that way.
Beyond that practical consideration, we the taxpayers need to know that our elected and appointed officials spend public revenue on projects that serve the public good.
From what our studies have shown, there is sometimes little or no attention to the propriety of public spending.
