[StBernard] New president, council members sworn to office in St. Bernard Parish

[Westley Annis]

New president, council members sworn to office in St. Bernard Parish

Published: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 3:53 PM     Updated: Tuesday, January
10, 2012, 4:04 PM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

Coming just hours after LSU's crushing loss in the national championship
football game, the inauguration of a nearly complete new slate of elected
officials in St. Bernard Parish carried none of the previous evening's
anguish.

It was all well wishes and pats on the back as incoming President Dave
Peralta and seven members of the St. Bernard Parish Council were
administered their oaths of office before a standing-room-only crowd in the
council chambers in Chalmette.

Five minutes into the festivities, a government official rapped the podium
loudly with a hammer to quiet the bustling crowd, a council assistant sang
the national anthem, and a pastor's invocation sent well wishes to Peralta,
saying, in part, "you are king and lord of this parish."

"We have been through so much over the past seven years, yet we stand firm
here today and remain committed to fulfilling the hope of a promising
future," Peralta told the audience.

Peralta said that St. Bernardians have proven themselves "the most resilient
people in America" and "have shown the world that we are here and here to
stay."

Peralta thanked former Parish President Craig Taffaro "for his service to
this community,'' and pledged a new St. Bernard.

"Gone are the days of back room deals, power grabbing legislation aimed
solely at enriching a few at the cost of the multitudes," he said. "We must
put our personal agendas aside and remember that we have been entrusted by
each of you to perform the functions of government with honest and
integrity."

He said it is "a top priority of this administration to provide you the most
transparent government this parish has ever seen" and that "we will do
everything we can to earn your trust and to gain your confidence, including
the establishment of a fully functional ethics board."

Also sworn to office were East At-Large Councilman Guy McInnis; West
At-Large Councilman George Cavignac; District A Councilman Ray Lauga;
District B Councilman Nathan Gorbaty; District C Councilman Richard Lewis;
District D Councilman Casey Hunnicutt; and District E Councilman Manuel
Montelongo III. Only Lauga and Cavignac, who represented District B, are
holdovers from the previous council.

McInnis then led the first council meeting as council president, inviting
two Chalmette High School students to give the new council some advice. They
asked the council members not to make decisions due to popularity, but
instead let their conscience show them the right path.

"The choices you make today shape our choices tomorrow," the two girls said
in unison.

At the meeting, the council adopted the annual salaries of Peralta's
government department heads: Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Graves Jr.
will receive $93,000; Director of Finance Beverly Gariepy and Director of
Public Works Hillary Nunez each will garner $85,000; Fire Chief Thomas Stone
will earn $84,227; Director of Community Development Candace Watkins and
Director of Parks and Recreation Craig DeHarde each will receive $65,000;
and Director of Human Resources Courtney Rapp will get $55,000.

The new council also reappropriated $75,000 back to the administration's
legal department, funds that the previous council, at Cavignac's urging, had
transferred to council. Cavignac has said he wanted to use the funds to hire
a council attorney.

The council also placed the council's three current staff members on a
30-day interim basis, and resolved to immediately advertise for all those
positions.

Clerk of Council Roxanne Adams currently makes $77,000, Deputy Clerk Carrie
Dorsa receives $41,300 and Council Assistant Melissa May gets about $24,340

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