BREC will begin its search soon for a new superintendent after Corey Wilson announced his plans Thursday night to step down when his contract expires at the end of January 2026.
Wilson said Thursday at the BREC Commission meeting that his focus for the remaining time will be on completing the agency’s 2023 and 2024 audits.
BREC, which manages the city-parish’s parks and recreational facilities, had not submitted an audit since 2020, until the 2021 audit was released last August. The 2020 audit was released in November 2021.
A recent audit for the 2022 fiscal year found that three BREC employees were incorrectly paid approximately $42,000 in final payroll termination payments, violating the state constitution.
The audit, conducted by EsnerAmper and submitted to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office, identified two instances of incorrect payments.
BREC Chief Operating Officer Andrea Roberts tells Daily Report that Wilson will hold a town hall meeting for BREC staff on Monday to share insight and answer questions.
“The responsibility for hiring a new superintendent rests solely with the BREC Commission,” Roberts says.
BREC Commission Chair Donna Collins-Lewis says the commission will take its time with the process.
“Hopefully, we will get a search committee appointed within the next 30 days, and then we’ll go from there, looking at the existing position description and determining whether that job description fits the needs of what we feel BREC needs going forward,” she says. “It’s not going to be something that’s going to happen over the next 60 or 90 days.”
Collins-Lewis and fellow BREC Commissioner Mike Polito say Wilson’s announcement was a surprise. Collins-Lewis says she has asked to put the search committee item on the agenda for the commission’s regular meeting on April 24.
State Rep. Dixon McMain authored a pair of legislative bills seeking to alter the control of BREC. House Bill 86 would reduce the number of BREC commissioners, while House Bill 87 would restructure the system and move it under the city-parish government umbrella. HB86 reduces the BREC Commission from nine members to five. Those five would be the mayors of Baker, Baton Rouge, Central, St. George and Zachary.
“I don’t know if the bills played a part in it (Wilson’s decision), but if they did, I’m glad that we can see a positive transition going on over there, and I think even more now, it’s an opportunity to come in for bold, positive change while you have this chance in time,” McMakin says. “We have nine months to continue the work of the group. Hopefully, they continue to progress on their actions, and I hope that my bills will provide them, either good or bad, the ammunition needed to make the bold positive change for the taxpayers of East Baton Rouge.”
McMakin says that the two bills cannot be passed together. They are potential options for how to move forward.
