St. Charles Parish finance director Lorrie Toups has been hired to fill the accounting director’s position in Jefferson Parish. She plans to resign from her current position with the parish once the appointment is made official at the next Jefferson Parish council meeting on May 6.
Jefferson Parish Human Resource Manager Junior Mendoza says they did interview Toups for the accounting director position and she was selected to head the accounting department.
“There were 15 applicants considered for the position,” he said. “We narrowed them down to six and Lorrie Toups was selected by our committee to head the accounting department.” Mendoza says the Jefferson Parish council members will take a vote to approve or disapprove the appointment on May 6.
“The accounting director oversees payroll and the accounting department,” he said. “The starting salary range is $61,933 to $87,146 annually.”
Toups says she has not formally submitted a resignation to the parish.
“Mr. St. Pierre is just getting started,” she said. “My assistant is still recovering from a personal illness, but I had to let Mr. St. Pierre know about this position.”
Toups says she’s grateful for the opportunity that St. Pierre gave her, but the timing is just an unfortunate coincidence.
“I wish it would have come a year or two from now,” she said. “But you really can’t choose when an opportunity will come up.”
Toups says she has won awards for accounting while being director of the finance department in St. Charles Parish, but this is an opportunity to grow.
“This is an opportunity to work for a government 10 times the size of ours,” she said. “The new position will give me an opportunity for advancement in the future.”
Toups says her current position in the parish is set, and unless she chooses to run for a political office, there’s no other promotion opportunity.
“If I was in the later years of my career looking at retirement, I probably wouldn’t have considered this position,” she said. “But I do have a long time to go.”
Toups will have to relocate to Jefferson Parish once things are official. She’s worked for St. Charles Parish for the past eight years.
“I haven’t appointed an interim director yet, but I am considering that as a possibility,” St. Charles Parish President V.J. St. Pierre said. “Right now, we’ve brought in a former parish employee to help with the audit and the transition process so that we will have all of our bases covered.”
St. Pierre, says that Toups did a wonderful job for the parish and he understands her decision to leave. He wishes her well.
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