Proposed Separation of Lafayette City-Parish Council

Members of the Lafayette City-Parish Council are proposing the creation of a separate City and Parish Council.

According to statements by council members, the proposal [if adopted] would give the city more autonomy, without deconsolidating the city-parish governments.

In 1992, city voters approved consolidation, but parish voters were against it. The issue was brought to the voters again in 2011, and again voters rejected a measure that would have deconsolidated the city and parish governments.

This new plan is said to keep the city and parish governments consolidated while providing the City of Lafayette with its own five member city council, which is similar to how the cities of Scott, Carencro, Youngsville, and Broussard are governed. The measure would also resize the parish council to five members.

Although this debate is just getting started, some council members are hoping to put the issue on the ballot this fall. If approved, voters would be electing a separate city and parish council in the fall of 2019.