By AIMÉE GAUCHET

CONVENT – At the St. James Parish Council meeting Wednesday, council members introduced an ordinance to establish the council districts according to U.S. Census Bureau figures from 2000.

Councilman A.J. Laiche said all districts must be reapportioned after a census is conducted, depending on the rise or decline in population.

“There’s not a big variation. A couple of districts gained or lost, and we have to make (the districts) as equal as possible,” Laiche said.

District lines must be redrawn before the council election next year.

At the council’s last meeting, a resolution accepting the bid from Cazenave Motor Company was introduced.

While it passed Wednesday, it seems the bid was not enough. The bid was for two pick-up trucks to replace ageing parish vehicles.

“It seems as though one of our maintenance trucks died, and we need another,” Laiche said.

So a resolution for another truck needed to be introduced Wednesday. A second bid had to placed because the specifications for the truck were different from the original two.

Funding for the trucks comes from the parish’s property tax funds. One of the approved trucks will be for a maintenance crew and will come from the property taxes.

The second is for the utilities crew and will be paid for through the fire protection fund, which is a property tax.

The third truck, once a bid has been accepted, will be for the gas and utilities division.