No Jobs Lost; Lafayette Government Departments Being Reorganized
Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory has announced three department in Lafayette Consolidated Government have been reorganized. Guillory says that no one is losing their jobs, and he says no services are being cut.
Three departments are changing including Development and Planning, Parks and Recreation and Community Development.
Why is this happening? Josh Guillory says its about efficiency,
These changes will strengthen synergies and create more internal efficiency, while providing better products and services for our citizens.
This action is not new for Guillory's administration. They already reorganized the Public Works Department into three separate initiatives in the beginning of his administration. The three became Public Works Department, the Drainage Department and the Traffic, Roads and Bridges Department.
In these latest changes, the Parks and Recreation Department will become the Parks, Art, Recreation and Culture Department using the acronym PARC, combining arts, culture, recreation and parks under one department. The following entities will fall under the newly named department:
- Acadiana Park Nature Station
- The senior centers in Lafayette
- The Heymann Performing Arts Center
- The Lafayette Science Museum
PARC will be headed up by Hollis Conway who was serving as the Community Development Director. He says,
I'm excited about the opportunity to serve in this capacity. The combination of parks, recreation, arts, and culture will provide our community with a broader range of opportunities.
The Development and Planning Department will merge with the Community Development Department called the Community Development and Planning Department. Citing efficiency, Guillory says the new department will be combining forces to work on similar things that the two separate departments previously worked on. Under this change, Mary Sliman, will now run the Community Development and Planning Department when she used to hold the title of Development and Planning Director.
Guillory says the changes will produce the following:
- Cost Savings
- Strengthening staff alignment
- Breaking down Silos
- Increasing Communication
- Sharing Resources
Sliman says,
I'm excited about bringing the Grants and Human Services Divisions together with all of our Development and Planning Divisions. Having all of these teams work together will create more synergy, better efficiency, and additional collaboration, benefitting the citizens we serve.
Guillory wants to emphasize that these changes will not be resulting in anyone losing their jobs.
Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory joins us on air each Thursday morning from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Anyone can call, email or use the KPEL mobile app to chat with Guillory.