Village of Maurice prepares to be Town of Maurice

MAURICE — As the Village of Maurice moves closer to becoming the Town of Maurice, officials are continuing discussion of what the representation of the town will look like.
Maurice will exceed the threshold of at least 1,000 to be a town when the 2020 Census is finalized. Maurice had 964 residents for the ‘10 Census. That number is expected to be more than 2,000 this time around.
There are currently three members of the Board of Aldermen. Those three, Alderwoman Phyllis Johnson, Alderman Warren Rost and Alderman Jonathan Schlicher, represent the entire village and do not have districts.
Discussion on the future took place during Maurice’s general meeting on Nov. 18. That included the two additional members of the Board of Aldermen who will be added in the coming year.
“The LMA (Louisiana Municipal Association) sent us some information on re-classifying the Village of Maurice,” Village Attorney Ricky LaFleur said, “in accordance with the new Census data.
“We will have to make a decision if we are going to go at-large or have districts.”
LaFleur explained that decision can be made by resolution and then transmitting it to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office. LeFleur said no action can be taken until the Census is made official.
“That is usually in April,” Mayor Wayne Theriot said. “We may get some preliminary numbers before that.”
Theriot said further discussion on this topic will be on the agenda for the Dec. 16 meeting.
“I would like for you all to research the pros and cons of going at-large or by districts,” Theriot said to the members of the Board of Aldermen. “We can have as much information as possible and have an open discussion. It may take two meetings worth of discussion.
“Once we make that decision, it is going to affect the soon-to-be Town of Maurice for many years to come.”
One of the biggest effects will be the addition of two members of the Board of Aldermen. Those two will be filled by appointments made by the current members.
“We will formulate a list of those who are interested,” Theriot said of potential appointees. “I would present that to the council to then appoint someone.
“Whenever we do this, it will be close enough to our regular election that we will not have to have a special election.”