[StBernard] St. Bernard gets new CAO; Dysart is interim appointment

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard gets new CAO; Dysart is interim appointment
by Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
Thursday June 04, 2009, 7:00 AM
Almost a year after firing his former chief administrator, St. Bernard
Parish President Craig Taffaro has promoted the parish's homeland security
director to temporarily fill the vacant position.

Taffaro named Lt. Col. David Dysart as interim chief administrative officer
this week. Dysart, a Marine reservist who came to the parish after Hurricane
Katrina to aid in recovery, has worn various hats under Taffaro and former
Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez.

Rodriguez's administration brought Dysart on in October 2005, citing his
experience in rebuilding another severely damaged city: Fallujah, Iraq.
Dysart had served as the director of the Civil Military Operations Center in
Fallujah, after the city's infrastructure was destroyed by repeated bombings
and flooding from the Euphrates River in 2004.

The similarities between Fallujah and St. Bernard were striking, he said,
down to the "X's" painted on doors of homes that had been searched. In the
case of Iraq, the searches were for weapons.

In Taffaro's administration, Dysart has served the dual roles of director of
homeland security and director of recovery. He will continue to serve as
director of homeland security and as the interim CAO. Michael Dorris Jr., a
contracted project manager with CDM Inc., will serve as the parish's
recovery director but still work for CDM.

Taffaro said the search for a permanent CAO is continuing and that Dysart
could be a candidate for that position. "I felt it was important for me to
take the appropriate amount of time to make sure that whoever fills that
position, either on an interim or a permanent basis, would do so in the best
interest of St. Bernard, " Taffaro said.

The job has been open since September, when Taffaro fired former CAO David
Peralta. Peralta said this week that Taffaro had offered him the chance to
resign beforehand, but that he declined because he didn't want to be
perceived as walking out on his employees.

Although this year's budget includes a significant raise for the CAO
position, from $80,000 to $115,000, Dysart will continue to receive his
current salary as homeland security director since his position isn't
permanent. Dysart's salary as the dual homeland security and recovery
director was already bumped up to $80,000 this year from last year's annual
pay of $68,923.

"As the director of recovery I was handling I don't know how many hundreds
of projects and millions of dollars worth of recovery items, " Dysart said.
"As the interim CAO I'm going to be handling the parish government with a
budget of $35 million. Short and sweet, I think I'll be working just as long
and hard as I was before."

The parish's charter requires the CAO to have a master's degree in public
administration or business administration, and at least three years
experience running a governmental department. Taffaro acknowledged Dysart
does not meet the educational requirements, which is a reason why his
position is a temporary one for now.

The parish's charter committee is considering changes that would relax some
of the requirements for parish department heads. Any changes to the charter
would have to be approved by a public vote.

Dysart first came to St. Bernard in fall 2005 on an assignment from the
Marines and has worked with the parish since then, except for a brief period
in late 2006 when the Parish Council eliminated his department as a
cost-cutting measure. He was brought on again in March 2007, when
then-Councilman Taffaro authored a budget amendment to pay his salary.

"It has been my utmost honor, the utmost privilege and the utmost joy that
I've ever had to serve these Americans and try to make a difference in my
community, " he said.

He is currently on the inactive standby list for the Marine Reserves, but
has petitioned to be put back on the active list to serve in New Orleans.

Chris Kirkham can be reached at ckirkham at timespicayune.com or 504.826.3321.