Many locals continue to question the health insurance for members of the Iberia Parish Council, especially its coverage of people no longer serving on the council, after parish government finally released last week some of the public records requested by this newspaper.

Many were surprised that council members were participating in the parish’s health insurance plan thinking council members were part-time not full-time employees.

The Iberia Parish Home Rule Charter under compensation for council members put the compensation at $7,200 a year. It specifically says council members don’t get any sort of mileage reimbursement for riding their districts. There is no mention of benefits for council members, nothing about health insurance, nothing about paid vacation days, paid sick days or other benefits you’d typically associate with a full-time job.

The charter says changes in compensation for council members may be enacted by the Parish Council but any increase cannot be approved in the final year of a term.

There is no record the parish approving health insurance as part of the compensation for Parish Council members since the charter was enacted in 1984.

The 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is saying that since the cost of the insurance for council members was included in parish budgets approved each year, then in effect the council approved the increase in their compensation.

In those same budgets the council approved was money for things like asphalt to patch up local roads. Certainly approval of a budget line for asphalt wouldn’t mean it was OK to use that asphalt on someone’s private parking lot? Certainly having money approved for grass cutting wouldn’t make it OK to cut grass on someone’s private property?

It’s hard to understand how approving a budget line item for insurance premiums satisfied the clearly written requirement in the Home Rule Charter that council members approve any change in compensation “by resolution.”

Since there doesn’t appear to be any resolution, no recorded action by a Parish Council that approved adding insurance benefits to the compensation of council members, how is it OK for the council to vote and approve a plan for offering health insurance starting this year?

The charter states that the council can’t raise its compensation — like adding insurance benefits — in the last year of a term. All of this started when the council went into executive session to discuss council compensation, then voted to address health insurance at it last meeting in 2015.

But we’re being told this didn’t raise compensation because the insurance coverage —which had never been approved — is being reduced to no longer cover dependents.

It’s no wonder people have questions about how this has been handled.

WILL CHAPMAN

PUBLISHER