Councilwoman Natalie Broussard speaks during the appointing of Barton Broussard to the Iberia Parish Airport Authority. Broussard was selected after two other candidates withdrew. 

Three candidates vying for a position on the Iberia Parish Airport Authority quickly turned to one at Wednesday’s Iberia Parish Council meeting after a legal opinion from the council’s attorney. 

Raymond Bernard Jr., Ryan Borne and J. Barton Broussard were the three candidates applying to fill the seat of IPAA member Chuck Crochet, whose term expires Nov. 23. 

Borne and Bernard also work at aviation companies that are tenants at the Acadiana Regional Airport, which prompted some council members to wonder if there would be any conflicts of interests or laws banning such an appointment. 

Bernard is an employee of AvEx and Borne works for Bristow Helicopters. 

Legal counsel Andy Shealy said after researching the issue and talking to the Louisiana Board of Ethics, it seemed that making an appointment for either would be a violation of the code of ethics. 

“The purpose of the ethics code is to prevent employees from becoming involved in conflicts of interest,” Shealy said at the meeting. “What the ethics board is keep you from finding yourself in a position where you’re having that particular conflict of interest.”

Councilwoman Natalie Broussard also said a conflict of interest could arise if the IPAA were to recruit a tenant that was a competitor of either candidate’s company. 

“I think they have a lot to offer but I think we’re setting somebody up for a problem,” Broussard said. 

After hearing from the legal counsel, Borne and Bernard both accepted the recommendation and withdrew their candidacy and Broussard was selected as the newest IPAA member. 

In other business, the council approved $400 for Councilman Eugene Olivier to attend a conference next month in Alabama.

Olivier, who introduced the motion, will be traveling to the Gulf States Counties and Parish Caucus’ annual meeting in Point Clear, Alabama, and originally asked for $1,055 for the trip. 

Councilman Warren Gachassin said he objected to the motion given the parish’s current financial situation. 

“I think we heard there was a 3 percent decline in our home assessment collections,” Gachassin said. “Things aren’t recovering like we thought they were. Our departments are taking cuts and we need to stand up and do the same.”

Olivier, however, asked to make a substitute motion to reduce the price to $400 after finding a councilman in a neighboring parish to share travel expenses with. Olivier also said he would be cutting the amount of nights he would spend for the trip. 

The motion passed 9-5, with council members Gachassin, Ricky Gonsoulin, Brian Napier, Joel Dugas and Chad Maturin voting against.