With the new year, there is now a new administration at LCG.
Today, the city and parish council members were sworn in, along with the new Mayor-President Josh Guillory who is already making changes.
One of Guillory's first decisions as Mayor-President was appointing an interim police chief. Hours before today's inauguration, Toby Aguillard resigned from his position as police chief.
As Guillory promised a safer and brighter future, he shed light on changes he wants at LCG.
"Since election night, we've already begun planning the reorganization of key function of our government to make it more transparent, efficient and accountable," Guillory said.
He did not address the changes made at the Lafayette Police Department. The news broke right as the inauguration ceremony began.
Guillory had previously requested the Chief's resignation, but Aguillard resisted.
In a statement, Aguillard thanked the public for the opportunity to serve and said he didn't want to cause a disruption between the new administration and the police department. Lt. Scott Morgan will serve as interim police chief.
"Everybody should have faith and confidence in Scott he has close to 25 years of experience in the police department," Guillory said. "We will have stability and strength."
During Guillory's speech, he also pledged an independent audit of LUS.
He said, "We must ensure proper financial and operational procedures are followed going forward. LUS constitutes nearly half of the budget of LCG."
The new Mayor-President is hopeful to make Lafayette more business friendly with low taxes, less regulation and stronger support for local businesses.
"We will leverage our existing economic incentives including our opportunity zones to spur investment and growth within our economy," Guillory said.
Guillory acknowledged there will be challenges moving forward, but said it will be important to communicate clearly, be transparent and to treat people fairly.
Tuesday, Guillory will introduce an ordinance to split public works. He wants a separate drainage department and traffic roads and bridges department.
