I say "No".
I said that when the position was created to accommodate a prior chief administrative officer (CAO), who was not qualified for the position and clearly cut not "cut the mustard", needed to be replaced by Mayor Adrian Perkins.
Rather than terminate the CAO or name her to a position reporting to the new CAO, Perkins created the chief financial officer (CFO) position.
The chief financial officer (CFO) reports to the mayor, not the CAO. Other than the mayor's personal staff, the CFO is the only city official not supervised by the CFO.
Currently the city has an interim CFO that is not a certified public accountant and who has a past criminal conviction.
The duties of the CFO already exist in the Director of Finance position. This position reports to the CAO and it should be filled a finance professional.
Mayoral candidate Tom Arceneaux expressed his opposition to the CFO position in an editorial in Feb. 2020.
Arceneaux repeated his position in a recent KEEL Radio interview, and indicated he would seek repeal of the city ordinance creating that position. He said he was focusing on hiring a top-notch Director of Finance.
In his KEEL interview, mayoral candidate Greg Tarver stated he would seek a highly qualified person for the CFO position. He was not asked directly if the position was needed.
My hope is that the new mayor will ask the new council to eliminate the CFO position.
My opposition to having a CFO has not changed since the inception of this position.
Watching the wheels of government roll with a CFO and now an interim CFO have further convinced me of the lack of need for this position.