The St. Tammany Parish Council ratified the appointment of former New Orleans executive Don Shea as the parish government's first economic development director Thursday night. And, former St. Bernard Parish Finance Director Beverly Gariepy was approved by the council as the new chief financial officer in St. Tammany. Both appointments were approved unanimously by the council. Shea will begin...
The St. Tammany Parish Council ratified the appointment of former New Orleans executive Don Shea as the parish government's first economic development director Thursday night. And, former St. Bernard Parish Finance Director Beverly Gariepy was approved by the council as the new chief financial officer in St. Tammany.
Don Shea Both appointments were approved unanimously by the council. Shea will begin work on Jan. 28. Gariepy will join parish government next week, Parish President Pat Brister said.
Shea, who was identified as Brister's choice last month, joins parish government after most recently serving as executive director of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Civic Council. Before that, Shea worked as executive director of the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority, president and CEO of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Downtown Partnership, and in a variety of positions with the Boston Redevelopment Authority. From 1990 to 1995, Shea headed up the New Orleans Downtown Development District.
A Massachusetts native, Shea has a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and a master of city planning degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in Cambridge.
Brister, who took office a year ago, made economic development a major priority for her first term. She has pushed to get more hotel occupancy tax money allocated to economic development in St. Tammany to match what is spent in other parishes. The pay range for the Economic Development Director post is between $121,719.00 and $151,846.50 annually, parish officials said.
Brister cited Shea's many years of experience as an economic development executive in recommending him to the council.
"I'm delighted to have this opportunity," Shea told the council after the vote. "I'm sure we're going to have a very exciting (economic development) program."
Gariepy, a St. Tammany resident, has been St. Bernard's finance director since 2011. Before that she was director of administration for the city of Covington under former Mayor Candace Watkins. Gariepy is being hired to replace deputy chief administrative officer Kim Salter, who is retiring in October. Gariepy will work under Salter during the transition period, and the job title will be changed to chief financial officer to better reflect the duties of the position, parish officials said. Leslie Long, the parish's current finance director, will remain in her position.
Gariepy said she was pleased to be working again in St. Tammany, calling it "one of the most exciting parishes in our area."
The pay range for the new Chief Financial Officer position is from $95,316.00 to $118,774.50 a year, parish officials said.