Commissioners Challenge Plaquemines Port Director

The Plaquemines Council Port Harbor and Terminal District held a tense meeting November 3 at which the port commissioners repeatedly challenged Executive Director Charles Tillotson about an auditor’s findings detailing lax controls on spending, documentation and reimbursement of contractors.

Tillotson has been under fire for months from the commissioners concerning his handling of federal contracts and documentation. A resolution to fire him for cause was introduced for the November 3 parish council meeting, but it was withdrawn because a clause in Tillotson’s contract requires that he be given a 10-day notice. The resolution will be re-introduced and discussed at a November 13 meeting.

Tillotson spent two hours answering an array of questions at the November 3 meeting, which convened immediately following the parish council meeting.

The Plaquemines Parish Council and the Plaquemines Port, Harbor and Terminal District (PPHTD) — often called the port commission — consist of the same elected officials, but they act in two different capacities, depending on the matter at hand. The parish government and port commission are distinct legal entities with separate budgets, accounts and statutory responsibilities. When meeting as the parish council, members act under the Plaquemines Parish charter. When meeting as the port commission, they act under Louisiana port district law. In April, the port changed its name to the Louisiana Gateway Port.

Tillotson responded to questions arising from 11 findings of an audit that detailed various failings by his office. They include alleged defects in documentation, reporting, contract supervision, bid policies and keeping required digital records on the port’s premises (instead of on the internet or on a vendor’s server). Additional allegations included improper billing of alcohol and meal expenses and failure to produce documents in a timely manner when requested by the auditor. 

Tillotson did not directly challenge any of the audit’s findings.

“I embrace the findings as an opportunity for the port to improve,” he said, adding that he wanted to “take full responsibility” for them.

“I am trying to be transparent,” he said.

The Louisiana Gateway Port has an ambitious plan to become a top five U.S. port by tonnage. It has signed a non-binding agreement with APM Terminals (part of A.P. Moller-Maersk), a global logistics leader, to build a state-of-the-art container terminal. Venture Global is constructing a significant liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility within the port’s district. The facility began producing its first LNG in late 2024 and is expected to significantly boost the port’s reported cargo tonnage.

In his opening statement, Tillotson seemed to suggest that the port’s rapid expansion may have been partly responsible for any shortcomings.

“The saying I’m thinking of is that you don’t rise to the level of your goals, but fall to the level of your systems,” he told commissioners.

That message—that the “systems” or lack of them were partly to blame—was not well received by commission members. Much of the questioning was done by Christopher Schulz, chairman of the Plaquemines Port and a certified auditor himself as well as a Plaquemines Parish Council member for District 3. At one point, Schulz said that negative findings in an audit throw the port’s ability to attract further federal grants into question. The port district has received millions of dollars in federal grants for port security projects.

Responding to Tillotson’s answers about making policy changes, Schulz said, “Our policies are already in place.” He criticized Tillotson for making policy changes beyond his authority. Any policy changes, he said, are the responsibility of the commission itself, not the executive director.

“We have to do better,” Shulz said near the session’s end.