[0:00] hello Livingston Parish I'm Brandon
Browning the communications director for
[0:03] the parish president's office today I
want to take a moment to clarify some
[0:07] important details about the roles and
responsibilities within our Parish
[0:11] government specifically the relationship
between the parish president and the par
[0:16] Council this understanding is critical
for ensuring that we all work together
[0:21] effectively for the benefit of our
community and to set this up think about
[0:25] the relationship between the parish
president and the parish council to be
[0:28] similar to that of the governor of
Louisiana and the state legislature the
[0:33] governor like the parish president falls
under the executive branch of government
[0:38] and is responsible for executing the
day-to-day operations ensuring that
[0:42] government runs smoothly the state
legislature falls under the legislative
[0:46] branch as does the Paris Council and is
responsible for creating laws approving
[0:52] the budget uh adopting resolutions now
some have the assumption that the
[0:57] legislature has some sort of day-to-day
Authority or supervisor type role over
[1:02] the governor and also some have the
assumption that the council has some
[1:06] sort of Authority or supervisor type
role over the parish president it's
[1:10] essential to understand why they do work
together to govern the parish the
[1:14] governor does not answer to the
legislature nor are they his bosss and
[1:18] the Paris president does not answer to
the council nor are they his bosss they
[1:23] are equal Partners in governments each
playing a distinct and important role in
[1:28] serving this community now to get more
specific as the Chief Executive Officer
[1:33] of Parish government the parish
president is entrusted with specific
[1:37] powers and duties that are distinct from
those of the parish council so let's
[1:41] walk through and see what these these
roles entail and how they also interact
[1:46] the parish President is responsible for
executing all laws and provisions of the
[1:51] charter and acts of the council this
includes appointing and managing Parish
[1:56] employees overseeing the administrative
Department
[2:00] and signing contracts for projects
within the approved budgets while the
[2:04] council plays a crucial role in adopting
resolutions and passing ordinances it's
[2:09] the president who ensures that these
decisions are carried out effectively
[2:14] now let's talk about the role of the
Paris Council the council has some
[2:18] important Powers particularly those in
the area of budget ratification
[2:22] ordinance passage and oversight for
instance the parish President is
[2:26] responsible for drafting annual
operating budgets uh the 5year capital
[2:31] Improvement budget but these budgets
require the council's review and
[2:35] ratification before they can be enacted
Additionally the council has the
[2:40] authority to pass ordinances that guide
the policies and regulations of our
[2:44] Parish the parish president in turn is
responsible for enforcing these
[2:48] ordinances though the council does not
control how the parish president carries
[2:53] out these duties beyond what is
explicitly stated in the law for certain
[2:57] contracts particularly those not
included in the approved budgets the
[3:01] parish president must seek the council's
approval this ensures that the council
[3:06] maintains oversight and that all
financial decisions align within the
[3:10] budgetary guidelines that they've set in
summary while the parish council and the
[3:15] parish president have distinct and
separate roles they work together to
[3:19] govern Livingston Parish the council
passes the laws and ratifies the budget
[3:24] while the parish president manages the
day-to-day operations to ensure that
[3:28] those policies are implemented it's a
system of checks and balances designed
[3:34] to serve our community effectively