Incoming CAO added to St. Martinville accounts

ST. MARTINVILLE — The city of St. Martinville is in the process of selecting its next chief administrative officers, with five candidates throwing their hats in the ring.

The applicants for the position include a certified public accountant, an accountant formerly employed with the city’s independent auditor, a payroll and accounting specialist from the city of Patterson and the city’s grant administrator.

The five applicants began interviews on Wednesday.

Alexandra Alleman graduated with a degree in accounting from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2013. From 2015 to 2017, she worked with Kolder, Champagne, Slaven and Company before going into private practice.

Danielle Fontenette currently serves as the manager for the St. Martinville Main Street program. Her resume lists her as having attended the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. She holds an associates degree in business travel from CTI Travel of Manchester.

Avis Gutekunst earned her bachelors of science degree in finance from Louisiana State University in 1995. She received her certified public accountant degree in 2005. Although she has served as a controller for Wampold and Company in Baton Rouge since 1999, she also served as owner of Le Petit Paris Cafe in St. Martinville from 2013 to 2016.

Brian Taylor most recently worked as an accountant for Liberty Tax in Lafayette. He holds a general studies degree from UL Lafayette.

Reginald Weary served as a payroll specialist and accountant for the city of Patterson. He holds a bachelors of science in business administration from UL Lafayette and a masters in business administration from the University of Phoenix.

The chief administrative officer position became open last month after Shedrick Berard, who had been appointed to the job in November, turned in his letter of resignation to Mayor Melinda Mitchell moments before a special meeting of the city council to discuss his employment on April 4. His resignation came after multiple issues in the city administration, including botched payroll deposits, unpaid bills, misplaced grant deposits, and a weeks-long search for $18,000 in traffic ticket revenues.

Berard had been hired against the recommendation of the city’s independent auditor, Burton Kolder, who reviewed the resumes of applicants. One of the requirements set on the new hire when the council approved hiring for the position was that Kolder would have a chance to make a recommendation before the candidate was hired.