17th JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT FOR THE PARISH OF USIVESION D STATE OF LOUISIANA JAMES B. CANTRELLE, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH OF LAFOURCHE versus | 3731 ‘THE LAFOURCHE PARISH COUNCIL FILED:, BY: DEPUTY CLERK PETITION FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENT NOW INTO COURT, through undersigned counsel, comes JAMES B. CANTRELLE, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH OF LAFOURCHE, who respectfully submits this Petition for Declaratory Judgment pursuant to La. C.C.P. Art, 1871 et seq. Petitioner requests that this Court resolve a dispute between the parties regarding the proper interpretation of Lafourche Parish Ordinance 5444 (aka 2-68), which governs the setting of the Parish President's salary. In support of this Petition, Petitioner shows as follows: a Petitioner is the elected President of Lafourche Parish. He was elected to a four year term of office in November 2015 and assumed office on January 1, 2016. Under the Lafourche Parish Home Rule Charter, the Parish President is the Chief Executive Officer of the Parish and may exercise any power and perform any function necessary, requisite or proper for the ‘management of the executive branch that is not denied by the Charter or inconsistent with the Constitution. 2 Made defendant herein is the LAFOURCHE PARISH COUNCIL. Under the Lafourche Parish Home Rule Charter, the Parish Council may exercise any power and perform any function necessary, requisite or proper for the management of the legislative branch that is not denied by the Charter or inconsistent with the Constitution. The Council is the governing authority of the Parish,Venue is proper in the Parish of Lafourche pursuant to Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 42. 4. is a local governmental subdivi yn as defined by the Louisiana Constitution. The Parish operates under its Home Rule Charter (“Charter”) pursuant to the authority of La. Const. Art. VI, § 5. Charter, Art. I, Establishment of Home Rule. 5. ‘The powers and functions of the Parish are separated and distributed between the legislative and the executive branches. Neither branch is permitted to exercise the powers or perform the functions of the other branch. This two-branch plan of government is known as a “president-council” form of government. Charter, Art. III, See. 1, Powers and Functions. 6. ‘When it was enacted, the Lafourche Parish Charter set the Parish President's salary at $65,000, effective in January 2008. The Parish Charter also gives the Parish Council the power to change the President's salary. Charter, Art. IIl, Sec. 5, Compensation. However, this power is subject to two significant restrictions: First, the Charter provides that the Council may not enact any salary ordinance during the last year in office of the Council members, nor can any salary change take effect during the terms of office of the members who enacted the change. Id. Second, the Louisiana State Constitution Article X, Section 23, provides that the compensation of a local official, such as the Parish President, cannot be reduced during his or her term of office. 7. Acting pursuant to these powers (and their limitations), on April 8, 2014, the Lafourche Parish Council adopted Ordinance $444." Ordinance 5444 moved away from a fixed salary and instead established a system to bring the President’s compensation in line with compensation rates for other Parish-wide offices, namely, the Sheriff, the Clerk of Court, and the Assessor. ‘The compensation rates for these three Parish-wide offices are set according to formulas approved and enacted by the Louisiana legislature. ' Ordinance 5444 is now designated in the Parish Code of Ordinances as 2-68. 28. In relevant part, the original Ordinance 5444, attached as Exhibit A, provides: WHEREAS, the Parish President's salary was last established in 2005 by Ordinance No. 3545 which increased the annual salary to $65,000; and WHEREAS, Chapter 2, Article III, Division 1, Section 2-68 (Parish President's Salary) of the Lafourche Parish Code of Ordinances allows the Council to change the annual salary of the Parish President by ordinance; and WHEREAS, the compensation rates for the Parish-wide positions of the Sheriff, Clerk of Court, and Assessor are established on an annual basis in accordance with a predetermined formula approved by the State Legislature; therefore BE IT ORDAINED, by the Lafourche Parish Council, which convened in regular session on April 8, 2014, that: SECTION 1. This Ordinance does hereby establish the Parish President’s salary effective with the next term of office, Year 2016. SECTION 2. The compensation of the Parish President be established based on the prior year average compensation of the Parish-wide positions of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff, Clerk of Court and the Assessor. SECTION 3. The Human Resources Director shall annually certify the compensation of «each of these elected positions (Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Assessor) beginning in August 2015 and each August thereafter to average and set the compensation of the Parish President taking office in January 2016 and each year thereafter. 9. AA dispute has arisen between the Petitioner President and the Defendant Parish Council regarding the proper interpretation of Ordinance 5444. This dispute involves whether the term “compensation” in the ordinance means the statutory compensation received by the three elected positions (Sheriff, Clerk of Court, and Assessor), or whether instead the term “compensation” in the Ordinance is restricted to only the base salaries of these three positions. 10. Petitioner avers that the proper interpretation of the ordinance is that “compensation” ‘means the actual compensation set by statute for the three elected positions, and that the Parish President's salary shall be calculated in accordance with the lawful formula using such actual 3