After a ruling by the Louisiana Attorney General's office, it has been deemed allowable for the Lafayette Consolidated Government to provide free coffee service to its employees.

Why question the coffee?

One may wonder why the Louisiana Attorney General's Office had to chime in on whether it was ok or not for the Lafayette Consolidated Government to provide free coffee to its employees. Well, it appears that the Lafayette City/Parish President Josh Guillory ask for its opinion, according to the story from KATC TV3.

Townsquare Photo by John Falcon
Townsquare Photo by John Falcon
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I like the idea that Lafayette City/Parish President Josh Guillory is looking at the budget closely enough to question the legality of (or the ethics of) the Lafayette Consolidated Government buying coffee for its employees. On one hand, some may think that it is wasteful spending (why can't the employees just stop at Jet Coffee or Johnston Street Java for a cup-o-Joe on the way in to work?). Others may say that it's a "perk" (pun intended) of working for a larger entity.

What does the Louisiana Attorney General's Office say?

Ok, basically. The Louisiana Attorney General's Office returned an opinion that brought up whether the coffee would have a "demonstrable, objective, and reasonable expectation that doing so will provide a real and substantial benefit" to the City and Parish of Lafayette.

Since the coffee service would allow for the employee to be more productive, the Louisiana Attorney General's Office says that it is a benefit to the city/parish. Also, the opinion of the Louisiana Attorney General's Office said that if by providing free coffee to its employees helps LCG attract and retain better employees, THAT is a benefit to the city/parish as well.

Didn't the Mayor/President out coffee service when trimming the budget recently?

According to the story from KATC TV3: yes, he did. The Mayor/President's office said that the coffee service was cut last year when it was trying to tighten things up and save some of OUR money. It appears that the Mayor/President is considering bringing back coffee service (only for the 24-hour employees) and wanted to check on the legality of that decision.

Since the AG's Office has given the green light, Lafayette Fire, Police, and other 24-hour employees may soon be able to enjoy a hot cup of coffee on the job, thanks to you and me. And the AG, of course.

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