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| Volume 3, Issue 44 |
November 1, 2017 |
| Inside this Issue... |
| Dedicated Fund Review Subcommittee Meeting |
Trippi Named LCAA President |
RMI Webinar: "Don't Click It" |
Take the LHC Blight Survey |
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| Gov. Edwards Attends White House Event on Opioid Crisis |
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Gov. John Bel Edwards and Dr. Rebekah Gee, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), recently attended a listening session at the White House held in an effort to address the nation’s opioid crisis. “The opioid epidemic is sweeping the country, and opioid-related deaths in Louisiana are on the rise,” said Gov. Edwards. “We’re doing our part in Louisiana, and I appreciate President Trump highlighting this important issue. Dr. Gee and I are looking forward to discussing Louisiana’s efforts to combat this crisis and to learn best practices from other states."
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Louisiana Dept. of Health (LDH) show that the abuse of opioids in Louisiana is prevalent:
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- Louisiana is one of 20 states with a significant increase in opioid deaths. (CDC)
- Louisiana had a 12 percent increase in deaths resulting from opioid overdose for 2014-2015. (CDC)
- Louisiana had 478 (17 per 100,000) fatal drug overdoses in 2014.(LDH)
Data from 2013-2015 indicates there were 6,252 opioid-related substance abuse treatment admissions in Louisiana. (LDH)
- Since the Prescription Monitoring Program began monitoring narcotic prescribing behavior, Louisiana has averaged 110 prescriptions per 100 people. Meaning, we have more prescriptions for narcotics than we have residents. (LDH)
Last month, Louisiana joined dozens of other cities, counties and states in filing a lawsuit in response to the alarming number of cases of opioid addition and opioid-related deaths throughout the country. Lawsuits were also filed by local sheriff’s offices in Avoyelles, Lafayette, Jefferson Davis and Rapides Parishes.
Also last month, Louisiana received a donation of 4,000 naloxone auto-injectors from kaléo Pharma. The donation was made available through the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services to first-responders across the state in an effort to reduce the number of overdoses from opioid abuse. It also included 2,000 voice-activated training devices. |
| Is Your Funding At Risk? |
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On Friday, November 3rd, the Dedicated Fund Review Subcommittee of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget will review certain statutorily dedicated funds, some of which may affect your community or municipality. The job of the subcommittee is to make recommendations on whether to keep current funding, reduce funding, or eliminate funding altogether. The funds that will be discussed on November 3rd are listed HERE. You can also click here to review the partial agenda. This is an opportunity to make your voice heard on matters that affect you. If you are unable to attend the meeting to provide testimony in person, please send your input to Brandon Brewer at bbrewer@lma.org no later than November 2nd, so that your position can be formalized and forwarded to the subcommittee.
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Trippi Named 2017-18 LCAA President
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Maurice C. Trippi was named President of the Louisiana City Attorney's Association at their 2017 Fall Conference and CLE last week. He is the City Attorney for the Village of Tickfaw in Tangipahoa Parish. He served as an Assistant City Attorney and City Prosecutor for the City of Hammond from 1985 to 1988 and then again from 1994 to 1998. He became the City Attorney for the Village of Tickfaw and the Magistrate of the Village of Tickfaw Municipal Court in February, 1999 and has served in those capacities since that time.
Congratulations Maurice and we wish you great success!
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RMI Webinar: Don't Click It
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Buddy Couvillion, Information Systems Manager for Risk Management, Inc. (RMI) will be doing a Webinar on email and internet security called "Don't Click It".
The webinar will take place on Wednesday, November 15th from 10:00 a.m.- 11:00 a.m.
Buddy will be sharing vital information in this age of viruses, malware, spyware, adware, and other covert efforts to gain access to online information.
Register by clicking here. |
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Office Depot Joins Growing List of BidBoard Shopping Contracts
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Office Depot, Inc., a leading provider of products and services for office, home, school and many Louisiana municipalities, has now partnered with the LaMATS Bidboard Procurement Network to offer local governments discounts up to 66% on 48 broad categories of commonly purchased office and other supplies.
With over 40 stores in the state, the major global retailer has become a single source for everything municipal staff need to be productive, including the latest technology, core office supplies, print and document services, business services and facilities products.
“To the best of our knowledge, these are the very best office supply prices available to anyone in the State of Louisiana,” said Cliff Palmer, LaMATS Executive Director. “We’re very pleased to add Office Depot to a growing list of quality partners supporting local government procurement.”
The new discount agreement with Office Depot joins other exclusive contracts offered through the LaMATS BidBoard Shopping program and can be accessed, along with a full list of related discounts and product categories, by visiting: https://www.lamatsbidboard.com/officedepotshopping
After registering for the program, members can shop online or in any Office Depot/Office Max retail store and receive discounts on purchased items by identifying their participation in the program with a LaMATS BidBoard Store Purchasing Card, downloadable in PDF.
BidBoard Shopping, part of a suite of procurement services provided by LaMATS BidBoard, allows local governments to efficiently buy discounted products or services, especially those that fall in the under-$30K category established by Title 38 of Louisiana’s Revised Statutes.
For details and limitations related to the agreement, contact LaMATS at (800) 234-8274. For specific product questions, contact Lisa Peranio at: lisa.peranio@officedepot.com or 504-388-5633.
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Updated Survey Link: Speak Up About Blight in Your Community
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The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), the state’s housing agency, wants to develop meaningful solutions to address blight in municipalities across Louisiana. LHC is surveying local leaders about the problems posed by vacant and dilapidated properties to better understand the nature and extent of this issue. With your help, LHC wants to reduce the current number of blighted properties and prevent future blight from happening.
The Louisiana Housing Corporation needs your insight to help create solutions to the challenges blight presents, including information about how local governments quantify and remediate blight. LaMATS encourages all municipalities to participate in the agency’s online survey and to complete it in the next couple days.
[TAKE SURVEY] |
Grambling Honors Williams and Smith
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Alicia Williams, longtime friend of the LMA, and current Senior Special Assistant to Governor John Bel Edwards, was recently honored by the Grambling University Foundation with the Beacon Award for Public Service.
A native of Grambling, Alicia found herself in Washington D.C. in 1984, working in the mailroom for then-Senator J. Bennett Johnston. She became the go-to person when LMA needed help with funding and assistance with federal agencies. She has also worked with former Lt. Governor Melinda Schwegmann and served as Office Manager for Sen. Mary Landrieu’s D.C. office from 1997 to 2014.
The Beacon Awards recognize individuals and organizations for their outstanding commitment to leadership, excellence and philanthropy in the categories of arts and culture, education, community service, business and industry, public service and community development.
Also recognized was LMA District B Vice President and LaMATS Immediate Past President, Mayor Eugene Smith of Arcadia. Mayor Smith was honored by Grambling President Rick Gallot (former state senator and son of former Grambling mayor Richard Gallot, Sr.) for his years of support to the annual gala.
Pictured Top: (L-R) David Aubrey, Louisiana’s Director of External Affairs for AT&T; Alicia Williams, and Rick Gallot, President of Grambling State University.
Bottom: Mayor Eugene Smith and President Rick Gallot
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BOAL Training in November
BOAL's next training will be a 3-day event in Jefferson Parish which will be held November 7th - 9th. All certificates offered at this training will qualify as Preferred Provider CEUs.
The first class will be a two-day seminar (1.2 CEUs) training participants on performing 2015 IBC Non-Structural Plan Reviews. The third day (0.6 CEUs) will focus on 2015 IMC Design, Installation & Inspection Principles
CLICK HERE to register online, if you are in need of Username/Password please make request to boal@lma.org.
CLICK HERE to download registration form, if you have any question please contact Susanne Diez at 225-344-5001.
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NLC City Summit
NLC’s City Summit is coming to Charlotte, North Carolina, November 15th-18th, 2017.
Go to http://citysummit.nlc.org/ for more information and to register. |
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Free Webinar
On November 16th at 10:00 AM, join a free webinar to learn to navigate all-new features on the municipal salary survey website SurveyNavigator.
No pre-registration is required. Just mark your calendar and click here.
Use the access codes below to listen live and join the conversation with your peers across the state:
Meeting number: 197 324 645
415-655-0001
Access code: 197 324 645
Questions? Contact tlcox@springsted.com.
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