[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish civic center's director suspended pending state audit

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish civic center's director suspended pending state audit
Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on February 28, 2014 at 3:17 PM, updated February 28, 2014 at 3:18 PM

The director of St. Bernard Parish's civic center, Stephanie Bachemin, has
been suspended pending a review of the center's finances by the state
legislative auditor's office, Parish President Dave Peralta and Councilman
Richie Lewis confirmed on Friday.

Peralta hired Bachemin as the Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center's executive
director when he took office in January 2012. But both Peralta and Lewis,
who often sits in on the center's board meeting, said that they had grown
concerned about the civic center's finances.

The center is managed by a non-profit corporation, St. Bernard Cultural
Center, Inc., which was created in 1991 and currently is overseen by three
board members, all parish employees: John Rahaim, who heads the parish
Office of Emergency Preparedness; Ross Gonzales, who is the parish's finance
director, and Melissa O'Neil, who is an assistant manager in the parish's
recovery office.

The center, which includes a 52,400-square-foot auditorium with a stage and
a 9,280-square-foot ballroom, is rented out for events and together can
accommodate about 3,000 guests. Bachemin could not be immediately reached
for comment Friday afternoon.

Peralta said on Friday that he would be speaking on behalf of the center's
board members. He would not provide documents related to any recent internal
financial inquiries until the state audit is completed. He cited potential
future litigation as a reason for prohibiting his employees from commenting
publicly on the civic center and for not releasing its financial documents.

Lewis said that he and some other councilmen, along with the administration,
called for an investigation by the legislative auditor. He said that in the
next few weeks there will be "more information on how the civic center
controls its money."

Peralta said Bachemin's suspension will not affect the center.

"There will be no disruption of its services," he said, adding that the
board will oversee the center's day-to-day operations until the audit is
completed.

"This may be nothing more than a bookkeeping problem, I just don't know,"
Peralta said. "That is why I am calling in an independent source to conduct
an investigation of the center."