CHALMETTE, La. (WGNO) – More problems for embattled Saint Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta.
He called an emergency meeting Friday morning, and it maybe lasted a minute.
Only three of seven council members showed up to Saint Bernard Parish chambers, so the clerk ended it due to quorum.
This is the fourth meeting called this week over Paratech, the parish’s internet contractor. Wednesday, the Council voted to cut ties with Paratech.
Parish President Dave Peralta vetoed that d. The council overruled his vetoThen he called for a state of emergency and demanded six council members step down.The council overruled that too.
So Friday, Peralta called the emergency meeting, to ask the council for permission to hire an attorney, since ParaTech is now suing the parish for ending their contract early. Two council members told WGNO they had to get rid of ParaTech to protect citizens:
“ParaTech is under investigation for tampering with our server, [Dave Peralta] has then been put in charge of our server. Hello, that’s a red flag. It’s our job as a council to protect the citizen’s data and information on that server,” said Councilman Richard Lewis of District C.
“Owners of ParaTech were the largest campaign donors to to Peralta’s presidential campaign.. When he came into office, the previous IT staff was fired and they were brought in, we believe it was a sweet heart deal,” said Councilman Casey Hunnicutt of Distrct D.
But who has the power to end contracts? The president or the council? Dave Peralta wants to take the council to court so those powers can be clarified. The council members I spoke with today said, no matter who has the power, in the end they have to do what they think is right for the parish.
“The president signs contracts, the president ends contracts. However, the council owns every asset of this parish. This is our building. If we don’t want someone in it to protect the interests of Parish residents? That’s our choice,” said Lewis.
As for the missing council members, two were at work and two were out of town.
The council members here also said Dave Peralta hasn’t showed up to meetings either.
WGNO asked Dave Peralta for a comment — He did not want to make one at this time.
Tensions continue to rise between the President and the Council, and then hen Peralta is also dealing with a number of personal legal matters.