JOHN E. SETTLE JR
How long will it take for the Shreveport Airport Authority (SAA) to learn and follow the basic requirements of the Louisiana Open Meetings Law?
Why should the SAA administrative staff continue to receive the 13% pay raise when key administrative work is not done correctly?
What other important legal and/or regulatory requirements are being ignored by the SAA?
When is the four member board of the SAA going to insist on public notices be posted correctly?
Why should these board members continue to serve if meetings are not properly noticed?
Maybe its time to invite the Louisiana Auditor or the Federal Aviation Administration to visit the SAA.
The last scheduled meeting of the SAA board was NOT properly noticed. And after this writer posted a column advising of the same, the special meeting was cancelled.
At 3:36 p.m. Fri. Feb. 18 a notice was published on the SAA Agenda Center of a regular meeting of the SAA on Tues. Feb. 21 at 10 a.m.
This notice did NOT comply with the Open Meetings law.
This law requires that public bodies like the SAA board are required to have notice of a meeting at least 24 hours before the meeting. The law ALSO states that the 24 hour notice is "exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays."
This notice must be posted on the SAA's website via the internet with the required minimum notice of 24 hours.
The noticed meeting is scheduled for tomorrow-Tues. Feb. 22. . Today Mon. Feb. 21 is President's Day.
With a posting of 3:36 p.m. on Fri. Feb. 18, the earliest a valid SAA board meeting could be conducted would be Tues. Feb. 22 at 3:36 p.m.
One wonders what else is falling through the cracks at the Shreveport Airport Authority.
Maybe its time, if not past time, for a new administrative staff at the airport or for that matter new SAA board members.
There is a vacancy on the SAA board after a former board member termed out. Hopefully the next nominee by Mayor Adrian Perkins to the board will learn the basic requirements of the Louisiana Open Meetings law.
Readers are invited to send their comments to the deputy director Stacy Kuba (stacy.kuba@shreveportla.gov), or the board members: Oliver Jenkins (jenkins.oliver@hotmail.com), Waynette Ballengee (waybetteballengee@gmail.com), Jonathan Reynolds (johnathan@cartercu.org). and/or Kay Medlin (kmedlin@bradleyfirm.com).