BATON ROUGE — Following a series of contradicting public statements regarding a lawsuit against the city of St. George, elected leaders believe they have come up with a way to improve communication and coordination among the administration, the council and the Parish Attorney's Office.

The offices of Mayor-President Sid Edwards and Mayor-Pro Tempore Brandon Noel issued a joint statement late this afternoon addressing the controversy.

They're proposing that an item be placed on the Metropolitan Council agenda before the City-Parish initiates or responds to legal action when appropriate.  The goal is to ensure the Mayor-President and council members have a voice in the process and that the public has an opportunity to be heard.

This all started on Thursday, when Edwards issued a press release, publicly opposing the parish attorney's move to join a private lawsuit filed against the city of St. George.

Parish Attorney John McLindon filed the action on behalf of the city-parish and disputed St. George's right to exist because an incorporation date has not been set.

The lawsuit was originally filed by LRK LLC, which claims St. George unfairly targeted the group during rezoning. The suit also argues that St. George was never formally declared a city because no incorporation date was set.

Edwards released a statement saying he did not approve the parish attorney's actions and disagrees with the decision to join the suit.

"Both parties negotiated in good faith for months earlier this year and reached an agreement in principle to resolve the remaining issues," the statement said.

The effort to join the suit apparently came without input from Edwards or the Metro Council.

Hours after Edwards weighed in publicly, Mayor Pro-Tem Brandon Noel responded, saying he and other Metro Council members were caught off guard by Edwards' statement — but not for the same reason as Edwards. Noel said Metro Council members had no idea the negotiations were even taking place.

Both sides met Friday, and say they now believe the steps they took will assist in transparency and public awareness, while giving all 12 Metropolitan Council members a chance to make their independent voices heard.