President Cooper Opposes Use of Tax Dollars to Conduct Investigation

President Mike Cooper opposes the use of tax dollars to fund the Parish Council’s “investigation” into his administration.

“To date, the Parish Council cannot provide one law, ordinance or regulation that I or any of our 500 employees may have violated, yet they want to use our citizens’ tax dollars to foot the bill for their political aspirations,” said Cooper. “In fact, less than two weeks ago at a public meeting, many of the councilmembers admitted that they do not think anything was done improperly by the employees or the administration. So, what exactly are they investigating?”

The Parish Council voted unanimously 13-0 (with one absent) at its Special Meeting on Monday, June 12 at 5 p.m., to hire outside counsel regarding the review and processing of a proposed development’s plans.

In 2018, the Louisiana Supreme Court decided that the District Attorney’s Office is obligated to represent St. Tammany Parish Government. “The District Attorney’s Office has provided St. Tammany Parish Government with excellent representation, and they have offered a solid plan to the Council to conduct this investigation without a conflict of interest.”

“The Parish Council may use their designated Assistant District Attorney or pay for outside counsel, but I will not participate in the use of public funds for an unfounded investigation that is merely being conducted for political show. There are better ways to use our time and the taxpayers’ money.”

“Since taking office in January 2020, I have worked tirelessly every day with my administration to improve our community, but the Parish Council continues to stand in our way by defunding major infrastructure investments, demoralizing our employees and now, by questioning our integrity. The citizens of St. Tammany Parish deserve better.”