The Lafayette City Council is moving forward with a plan to hire an independent auditor after voting on the measure at a Tuesday afternoon council meeting.

The auditor will investigate multiple bids and projects that have come under scrutiny at council meetings and in press reports.

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Guillory released a statement in response to the council's vote.

The Mayor-President began by acknowledging that he did recommend the council take this course to answer their questions, saying "I appreciate the City Council accepting my recommendation from two months ago to bring in an independent auditor to answer specific questions regarding city business."

However, he also questioned the motivations behind the action.

"While on the surface this 'investigation' could be viewed as political theater, I respect the process," he said in his statement. "But I believe this could be accomplished without spending $100,000.00 of our taxpayers' hard-earned dollars."

"Regardless," he concluded, "I, along with my administration, will cooperate fully to ensure transparency. My hope is that this can happen as efficiently as possible so that we can get back to focusing on what matters most - the citizens of this city and parish."

Guillory has been facing increasing criticism as multiple news outlets have raised questions about his side jobs, legal work, and the various projects the council now wants to be investigated.

There is also now concern, according to The Daily Advertiser, that the state may no longer reimburse Lafayette for some of the projects until the city answers questions from the state.

"But since late June, issues with the project and LCG’s payment requests have caused the state to lock up the funding, leaving $22 million worth of reimbursements requested by LCG unpaid until the state government’s questions are answered," The Advertiser reported. "But until LCG meets the state’s standards for reimbursement, it will have to continue fronting the costs for the massive Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project on its own, which could leave the local government’s finances severely impacted and raise questions with its auditors."

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