Less than three months into Mayor Jacob Stutes’ administration, two senior City Hall figures have departed while the Sulphur City Council prepares to revisit an investigation into municipal hiring and personnel practices that could carry subpoena power under the city’s Home Rule Charter.

Sulphur’s new administration entered office July 7 promising an audit of city operations, greater transparency and an increased focus on infrastructure. Eleven weeks later, City Hall is facing a very different kind of examination.

Chief of Staff Alexis Nabours resigned Sept. 21. Fire Chief John Naquin retired effective Sept. 22 after 29 years with the Sulphur Fire Department, saying his decision was directly connected to conditions under the new administration. Meanwhile, a City Council investigation into hiring, appointments, suspensions and terminations remains scheduled for consideration at the council’s Oct. 13 meeting.

The departures come after weeks of disputes over personnel decisions, the creation of a new $97,500-a-year Chief of Staff position, the firing of the city’s longtime finance director, and separate questions surrounding public spending at the city’s temporary court facility.

The Chief of Staff Hire

Nabours, who worked on Stutes’ mayoral campaign, was hired July 7 as Sulphur’s new Chief of Staff. Public records obtained by KPLC showed the position had not been publicly advertised and that the City Council had taken no action formally authorizing creation of the position. The records also showed Stutes overrode the normal drug-screening and background-check process before the hire.

That does not by itself establish that the appointment violated the charter. KPLC noted in its July investigation that it remained unclear whether council authorization was legally necessary to create the position. Stutes has maintained that staffing within his executive office falls within his authority as mayor. In September, he told KPLC that he did not believe he needed council approval to hire someone working within City Hall.

The hiring process nevertheless became a focal point for council scrutiny.

Records later showed an unusual sequence in Nabours’ employment history: she was hired July 7, was described in city correspondence as having been verbally terminated July 9, and was told she was back on July 13. Separate records showed that the background check and drug-screening paperwork had initially been overridden.

A subsequent records search identified an outstanding bench warrant connected to a 2024 driving-under-suspension citation. The warrant was recalled July 28, according to information later provided by the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office.

Nabours resigned Sept. 21. In her public statement, she attributed the decision to what she described as a documented hostile work environment involving cyberstalking, sexual defamation and attacks on her family. She also said she had submitted an evidence-preservation request to the City Council and was retaining legal counsel concerning potential claims arising from her departure. Those are Nabours’ allegations and have not been adjudicated.

Fire Chief Retires After 29 Years

Within roughly a day of Nabours’ resignation, Fire Chief John Naquin announced his retirement.

Naquin had served the Sulphur Fire Department for 29 years and had been chief since 2023. He told KPLC that his retirement decision was recent and was tied directly to his experience with the Stutes administration.

Naquin said relations deteriorated after he defended City Hall employees whom he believed were being treated improperly. He claimed that speaking up placed him at odds with the mayor. Those statements represent Naquin’s account of the workplace dispute; Stutes has separately defended his authority over the executive branch and its personnel.

Naquin’s retirement is part of a broader turnover in the administration. Former Finance Director Jennifer Thorn was fired earlier this summer, according to KPLC. On Aug. 24, the council unanimously confirmed Lindsey Delouche as interim finance director through Jan. 1, 2027.

A Charter Investigation With Subpoena Authority

The personnel disputes are now intersecting with one of the City Council’s strongest oversight powers.

Section 2-08 of Sulphur’s Home Rule Charter allows the council to investigate the affairs of city government and the conduct of city officials, officers, employees, departments and agencies. For those investigations, the charter expressly allows the council to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require production of evidence.

Council Chairman Danny DiPetta placed Resolution RES36-26 on the Sept. 14 agenda. The resolution would authorize an investigation into Sulphur’s hiring, appointment, suspension and termination practices to determine whether those practices comply with the Home Rule Charter, city ordinances, adopted personnel policies and Louisiana law.

DiPetta also proposed an amendment creating a two-member council committee to oversee the investigation.

That produced an extended confrontation at the Sept. 14 meeting. Stutes argued that council members were interfering with his executive authority to hire and fire employees. DiPetta and Councilman Troy Darby disputed the mayor’s characterization, with Darby saying the council had legitimate concerns about personnel actions and specifically identifying the Chief of Staff hire as part of the proposed inquiry.

No investigation was authorized that night.

Instead, the council voted unanimously to defer both the amendment establishing the investigative committee and the underlying Section 2-08 resolution until its next regular meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13.

That distinction matters: the council has the charter authority to compel testimony and records, but as of Sept. 26 it has not yet voted to activate that authority for this personnel investigation.

A Separate Fight Over 501 Willow Avenue

The personnel investigation is not the only oversight matter pending around City Hall.

The city currently leases the former Masonic Lodge at 501 Willow Avenue for $20,000 per month as temporary space for City Court and the Ward 4 Marshal. Questions have been raised about construction and site work performed at the privately owned property and how those costs were procured.

KPLC reported that 10X Services LLC billed the city $325,500 for parking-lot and sidewalk work at the property. The leased building is owned through BAB Rentals LLC by Justin Babineaux, who also operates 10X Services. Public Works Director Austin Abrahams has defended the procurement approach, saying the lease language left procurement of that work to the property owner and that multiple quotes were obtained.

The council has not made a legal finding that public bid law was violated.

Instead, on Aug. 24, it voted 4-1 to request an opinion from the Louisiana Attorney General concerning possible public-bid-law violations associated with the facility. DiPetta cast the lone vote against that request. During the same meeting, Stutes said he had already provided records to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney for review.

That matter is separate from the Section 2-08 personnel investigation scheduled to return in October.

Protective Order Adds Another Layer

The turmoil extended beyond City Hall last week when the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office served Stutes with an emergency protective order in connection with divorce proceedings.

Court filings contain allegations of domestic abuse made by Stutes’ wife. Stutes has denied those allegations, calling them a private family matter and saying he intends to continue serving as mayor. KPLC reported that the order required Stutes to surrender any firearms within 48 hours, excluding weekends; the sheriff’s office said he did not possess firearms when he was served. A hearing on the protective order was scheduled for Sept. 29.

The civil allegations should be treated separately from the municipal personnel and contracting questions unless subsequent evidence connects them. They have nevertheless contributed to the political strain around the administration.

District 3 Councilwoman Danielle Monceaux, who supported Stutes during the election, publicly withdrew her support for the administration. District 4 Councilman Josh Baden, another former supporter, said recent events caused him to reconsider that support and emphasized that questions involving city government should be reviewed through formal processes based on evidence.

What Happens Next

The next major municipal decision comes Oct. 13.

The council is scheduled to return to the deferred resolution authorizing the Section 2-08 personnel investigation. If adopted, the inquiry would move beyond ordinary political questioning: the charter gives the council authority to obtain evidence, summon witnesses and take testimony under oath.

A separate proposal to appoint another Home Rule Charter Commission was deferred indefinitely at the Sept. 14 meeting and should not currently be described as scheduled for Oct. 13.

For now, several questions remain unresolved: whether the Chief of Staff position was created and funded consistently with the charter and city personnel rules; what other hiring or termination decisions the council may examine; what the Attorney General concludes about the 501 Willow procurement questions; and what records are ultimately produced if the council activates its investigative authority.

Those questions now have something they did not have when Stutes and an entirely new City Council took office in July: a defined mechanism for answering them.

About the Author

Dalton Barron covers local government, public records, infrastructure, development, real estate and the underlying numbers shaping Southwest Louisiana for 337.NEWS.

Barron is also a licensed Louisiana real estate agent with NextHome Bayou Pines.

Dalton Barron
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Disclosure

Dalton Barron is a licensed Louisiana real estate agent. This report concerns municipal government, public spending, personnel matters and public records. No material real estate brokerage interest or client relationship is known to be connected to the subjects of this report. Real estate licensing and brokerage affiliations did not influence the reporting or conclusions presented here.

About 337.NEWS

337.NEWS is an independent Southwest Louisiana publication focused on public records, local government, development, business, infrastructure, real estate and the data behind stories affecting the region.