The Jefferson Parish Council approved a long-stalled $1.7 million consulting contract Wednesday even though Inspector General David McClintock said the company doesn't meet Jefferson's own qualifications for the job. Council members cited the urgency of the task, managing a program to elevate 135 flood-prone houses in the middle of hurricane season, as well as parish attorney Deborah Foshee's guidance that Solutient Corp.'s proposal presented "no legal impediment" to ratifying its contract.

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