Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing independent reporting series that started in late 2025 examining municipal operations, public accountability and transparency in the Town of Cullen. The reporting and original work in this series were independently produced.
By Tiffany Flournoy
CULLEN, La. — Cullen, under a rolling boil advisory, owes more than $6,100 to the chemical supplier it relies on for chlorine and lacks roughly $1,000 needed for another supply, leaving the town unable to obtain additional chlorine as its water system remains under state health scrutiny.
The disclosure came during the Sept. 28 Town Council meeting, where Mayor Pro Tem Floydean White acknowledged that the town had failed to meet corrective deadlines previously imposed by the Louisiana Department of Health. The meeting also exposed mounting financial and leadership problems following the July resignation of Mayor Terry Hoof.
Water system caught in financial crisis
The chlorine shortage is not new. Cullen has struggled for months to maintain an adequate supply, while residents have faced repeated boil advisories as problems with the town’s water system have persisted.
Chlorine is a critical part of municipal water treatment, used to disinfect drinking water and maintain protection as treated water moves through the distribution system.
Cullen owes more than $6,100 to Hawkins, its primary chemical supplier. The account is in collections, and Hawkins is refusing to provide additional chlorine until the past-due balance is addressed.
Town officials said another supply would cost approximately $1,000, but the town does not have the additional funds.
White said she is negotiating with Hawkins in an effort to obtain chlorine.
White also said LDH visited Cullen earlier in September.
“They have written us up once or twice before. They gave us a certain amount of time. We did not fulfill that time,” White said.
It was unclear from the meeting what specific deficiencies LDH cited or which corrective deadlines the town failed to meet.
Town Attorney Josh Chevallier has previously said deteriorating water and utility systems were among the circumstances contributing to recommendations for fiscal administration.
On Aug. 27, the Baton Rouge Fiscal Review Committee approved the appointment of a fiscal administrator for Cullen. The Louisiana attorney general’s office is expected to seek the appointment through the 26th Judicial District Court.
As of Tuesday, no filing seeking the appointment was found in records available for review through the Webster Parish Clerk of Court.
Two agendas, different business
The Sept. 28 meeting also revealed differences between the agenda posted publicly Sept. 25 and the agenda distributed at the workers meeting and again at the 6 p.m. council meeting.
The posted notice identified a 6 p.m. regular council meeting and a 5 p.m. workers meeting but did not provide a physical meeting location, listing only the town’s post office box. The agenda distributed at the meeting identified the Council Room at the Municipal Building, 405 Coyle Avenue, as the meeting location and was dated Sept. 25.
The agendas also differed in the business listed for consideration.
The publicly posted agenda included a recommendation to approve Floydean White as mayor to replace former Mayor Terry Hoof, who resigned July 31. The item did not appear on the agenda distributed at the meeting.
While working from the posted agenda, White reached the item concerning her appointment. White said Barbara Green had reminded her earlier that the matter had already been taken care of.
“I’m going to scratch through that,” White said.
Shortly after, White acknowledged she was using the wrong agenda. Apparently White had been using the publicly-posted version rather than the one distributed at the meeting.
The posted agenda also listed approval of the August meeting minutes, while the distributed version specifically identified the Aug. 26, 2026, minutes and included a separate item for approval of the Aug. 26 meeting agenda.
The publicly posted version contained no agenda approval item, and the council proceeded without formally adopting or amending an agenda at the outset.
Because an agenda serves as public notice of the business a governmental body intends to consider, differences between a publicly posted agenda and the one used by the council can raise questions under Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law.
Public comment followed council action
The Sept. 28 agenda placed public comments at the end of the meeting, after the council had already acted on agenda items.
Among those actions was approval of the Aug. 26 meeting minutes. The minutes were approved 3-0 by Alderwomen Barbara Green and Denise Epps-Hoof, along with Mayor Pro Tem Floydean White.
White remains an elected alderwoman while serving as mayor pro tem and retains her voting rights on the council.
The Aug. 26 meeting itself involved a separate notice issue.
A notice posted at Town Hall at noon Tuesday listed a 5 p.m. Aug. 26 meeting but incorrectly identified the date as Monday rather than Wednesday. Hours before the meeting, volunteer town clerk Cyerra Prevo posted an updated notice moving it to 4 p.m. after officials learned a council member could not attend at 5 p.m.
White acknowledged during the meeting that the change could draw scrutiny. Prevo maintained that the original notice had been posted more than 24 hours earlier.
Some residents arrived expecting a 5 p.m. meeting and objected after discovering it had been moved.
The council’s Aug. 17 meeting also drew questions about the timing of its agenda posting and the lack of an opportunity for public comment before council members began voting on matters listed on the agenda.
A meeting difficult to hear
The Sept. 28 meeting was at times difficult to follow as individuals spoke over one another and side conversations continued.
Cullen conducts council meetings without a public-address system or microphones. The lack of amplification made portions of the meeting difficult to hear from the audience. One resident with a hearing impairment said she was unable to follow portions of the proceedings.
The meeting was preceded by a 5 p.m. workers meeting, with both meetings appearing under the same public posting.
Leadership remains unsettled
Hoof resigned July 31, leaving White to perform the mayor’s duties as mayor pro tem.
The town is also dealing with incomplete financial records and unpaid obligations as it moves toward fiscal administration.
The Sept. 28 meeting showed how the town’s financial condition, water-system problems and questions surrounding its public meetings are increasingly intertwined.
As of Tuesday, the state fiscal administration appointment had not yet been filed in the Webster Parish Clerk of Court records available for review.