August/September 2023

DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT
Executive Director’s Report
What a few months it’s been!
In fact, what a year! I want to
first express my appreciation
to LMA Past President Jennifer
Vidrine, President Derrick
Johnson, and First-Vice President
Rick Allen for providing
leadership and stability last
year that empowered our organization
to thrive and pave
the way for a successful future
of the LMA.
In a brief review of our
LMA year, the LMA Annual
Mid-Winter conference was
held in February, our Municipal
Day at the Capital in
April, and in June, the hugely
successful series of the
ten statewide district meetings,
where almost 900 LMA
members were in attendance
throughout the state.
A mere three weeks from the
conclusion of our 2022 annual
convention, the LMA, RMI
and LaMATS staffs boxed up
over 30 years of LMA history
as we prepared to move
into the new LMA home. We
made a seamless transition
into the new headquarters. A
32,000 square foot building
and adjoining 2.5-acre lot are
the centerpieces of the 5-acre
property south central Baton
Rouge near the LSU Campus
on Perkins Road. Nestled
among live oaks and pecan
trees, the building houses the
LMA, RMI, and LaMATS offices
as well as the Louisiana Association
of Chiefs of Police and
Government Consultants.
Among the highlights of the
building are a state-of-theart
executive board room,
multiple conference rooms,
and a noise-reduced webinar
room. Our old headquarters,
located on N. 10th Street
in downtown Baton Rouge
was sold for $3 million in
mid-September 2022, greatly
reducing the financial obligations
remaining on the new
headquarters.
I am pleased to let you know
that the Louisiana Infrastructure
and Technical Assistance
Corporation (LITACorp) is
up and running full speed
ahead. This historic joint-venture
with the Police Jury Association
of Louisiana has
been funded by a $25 million
appropriation by the state.
The LITACorp Board, chaired
by LMA President Derrick
Johnson, Sr. was successful
in hiring a familiar face and
name, Leslie Durham, as the
Executive Director. She came
to us after serving at the pleasure
of the President of the
United States as the Federal
Co-Chairwoman of the Delta
Regional Authority (DRA).
The board, with the guidance
of Leslie and her staff, hired
two consultants, Franklin &
Associates and Hunt Guillot
and Associates to serve as
the “boots on the ground” to
assist our rural municipalities
and parishes with grant writing
and other technical assistance
as it relates to the 2021
Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act (IIJA).
Season 3 of our Small Town
Podcast series has also
dropped. You can access the
series through our website at
www.lma.org or on the Small-
Town Podcast website at
www.smalltownpodcast.com.
We are also excited to announce
the LMA’s own podcast,
From the Piney Woods to
the Bayou where we will be
featuring local stories from
around the state under the
banner of the LMA through
our in-house communications
team, AMCorp International.
I want to thank Louisiana
Economic Development
Secretary Don Pierson for his
continued generous support
on all of our podcast ventures.
Our wholly owned subsidiaries,
RMI and LaMATS, saw
positive growth this year.
RMI General Manager Patrick
Cronin and his team hit the
road making a total of 225
municipal visits in 2023 and
realizing new annual premiums
totaling $1,219,000
dollars. LaMATS Executive
Director Cliff Palmer and his
team continue to see growth
in their programs, including
the growing procurement
and surplus sales program as
well as LACPC Joint Municipal
Commission. Thank you
also to RMI Chairman Mayor
David Butler and LaMATS
Chairman Councilman Nathan
Martin for your leadership
this past year.
The LMA had another successful
legislative session
where we partnered with
John Gallagher,
Executive Director
other local government associations
to address a number
of critical issues in the 2023
Regular Session of the Legislature.
Among the successes
was the passage of SB 166
which will allow - under certain
circumstances - the waiver
of a local match for capital
outlay projects in municipalities
under 6,000 in population.
This will go a long way
in helping those municipalities
be able address their
infrastructure needs without
placing a burden on their
budgets.
The LMA continues to be in
a solid financial condition.
Despite the economic downturn
faced in the last year and
the continued resurgence we
are seeing; our investments
are solid and seeing continued
growth. The LMA has
been operating in a slight
deficit for a number of years,
and through the leadership
of our officers and executive
committee and actions being
taken, we are very hopeful to
be seeing a budget surplus in
2024 and beyond.
CONTINUED PAGE 6
Page 4
LMR | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023