Livingston Council Defies Ricks On Contract

LIVINGSTON, La. (AP) — After two months of sparring with Parish President Layton Ricks, the Livingston Parish Council voted to publish a request for qualifications for engineering work on the parish's long-delayed road overlay program.

Thursday night's move sets up a potential legal battle if the council selects a different firm than the one Ricks already has contracted for the job.

The Parish Council was set to vote Aug. 22 on publishing for the work when Ricks informed the council he had already hired a firm.

Ricks signed a contract July 24 with Burk-Kleinpeter Inc. to examine roads for the project.

The firm cannot move forward with the work until the council allocates money in the parish budget for it.

The council removed the funds from the parish's 2013 budget.