Tempered acrimony across branches of parish government can often be pragmatic, assuring what should be a fruitful exchange of ideas and solutions.
A parish council which rubber stamps every whim of a parish president would clearly be underserving its constituents.
But in St. John the Baptist Parish what has become an obvious disconnect between Parish President Natalie Robottom and the parish council is teetering on the edge of being counterproductive.
One common complaint among council members is what they perceive as a lack of communication from Robottom and her staff. They have repeatedly expressed concern that they are often not aware of what projects have been advertised for bids until the council meeting when the president is asking the council to approve the low bidder. To correct this issue, the council recently adopted a resolution that mandates all bids must be approved by the council before being advertised, which did not set well with Robottom.
Several other issues, however, have also gnawed at the council, including what members claim is a lack of movement on creating a separate department within public works that would focus strictly on drainage, the hiring of special assistants and some unrest regarding the code enforcement office.
For her part, Robottom is likely frustrated that council members often ask redundant questions at each meeting, forcing her to repeat the same answers every other week. She may also be feeling a lack of confidence from the council.
There is no villain in this scenario, as each faction has legitimate concerns. To their credit, all council members are passionate about their districts and the people they represent, so they may appear a bit parochial, perhaps to the point of appearing selfish. But those individuals are only doing what they are elected to do.
Robottom’s focus must always be on what is best for St. John Parish as the greater body. By their very nature, those two governmental entities will always clash.
The challenge is to not allow those political differences to become personal or to subvert the process to the point that government is stymied and the parish paralyzed.  After all, this isn’t Capitol Hill.
Fortunately, St. John has not reached that point, yet. But all involved must be more trusting of each other so the parish can continue in its recovery from Hurricane Isaac and remain unified in creating a brighter future for all residents.