June 26, 2017 - Special

JUNE 23, 2017

NOTICE OF SPECIAL POLICE JURY MEETING

1. Motion to amend and adopt the General Fund Budget.
2. Any other business that may properly come before the Police Jury.

BY ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT

Laurel Smith, Secretary

Police Jurors; Davron “Bubba” Moreau, Joe Bishop, Theodore Fountaine, Jr., Richard Vanderlick, Oliver “Ollie” Overton, Jr., Sean McGlothlin and Richard Billings.

Also present were: Mr. Shannon Trapp, Courthouse and Jail Building Superintendent, Phillip Terrell, District Attorney, Mr. Thomas O. Wells, Legal Counsel; and Ms. Laurel Smith, Secretary.

The invocation was given by Mr. Scott Perry.

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mr. Bubba Moreau.

The Police Jury of the Parish of Rapides, State of Louisiana, was duly convened as the governing authority of said Parish by Hon. Richard Billings, President, who welcomed all present and then stated that the Police Jury was ready for the transaction of business.

The President asked if there was any public comment on any agenda item, to which there was no response.

REGULAR MEETING

JUNE 26, 2017

On motion by Mr. Ollie Overton, seconded by Mr. Richard Vanderlick, to amend and adopt the General Fund Budget.

Mr. Bruce Kelly, Treasurer, distributed and explained the General Fund Statement. The first column is the original budget, the second column is the revised budget and the third column is what we have done through today. The Jury started the year with a deficit of $548,000.00 and we had $343,000.00 at the end of the year, on January 1, 2017. He further explained this meeting was to revise the budget due to the shortage of $204,370.80.

Mr. Kelly stated over the past three years the Jury has lost revenues in court fines and court costs of about a million dollars.

Mr. Fountaine questioned the reason for the loss of money in these funds.

Mr. Kelly stated the District Attorney instituted a PTI Program that caused court fines and court costs monies to go down.

Mr. Scott Perry questioned if there was other reasons the revenues were short, to which Mr. Kelly stated the revenues were holding steady. The sales tax was down some, which was $70,000.

Discussion ensued.

Mr. Kelly stated you either raise the revenue, cut employees or cut their hours down, to which we will possibly have to do at some point.

Mr. Ollie Overton questioned if this would be about a 3% reduction, to which Mr. Kelly answered yes.

Mr. Kelly stated in 1997 the Jury created an Unemployment Trust Fund account. He explained how the account work for unemployment claims. There is $92,000.00 in this account.

Mr. Phillip Terrell, District Attorney, stated he was told by his predecessor that there was enough money to operate the DA’s office. Unfortunately, they had employee theft, which the DA’s Office owes money to itself, the Jury, the Sheriff’s and every police agency in the Parish. We had discussions earlier on and the Jury made it their duty that they weren’t in the position to give the District Attorney’s Office the money, that they needed to operate and we needed to operate in an appropriate manner to take care of the public. Mr. Terrell further stated the last two years, in discussion with Bruce and the rest of the Jury, that the DA’s office determined that no matter what, at the end of the year, if they hadn’t met the $450,000 threshold, that we would write a check back to the Police Jury to cover that. We did the first year, it appears this year we will meet the $450,000 threshold, before Bruce’s budget. That was his understanding.

Mr. Kelly stated in looking at the graph he handed out, you could see it shows court funds and court costs from 1983 forward. A 10 year period, from 2004 to REGULAR MEETING JUNE 26, 2017

2013 we were collecting an average amount of $947,000. If you will look at the last three years, you will see where it’s been short and it’s a $1,000,000.

Mr. Terrell further stated he wanted to work with the Jury and what he agreed to. If cuts are to be made, they would make the same cuts as everybody else.

Discussion ensued.

Mr. Smith stated this would get the budget going for the remainder of the year and then we can start looking at creating the budget for 2018. We will need to look at different ways to create more revenue or additional cuts within the General Budget Fund for next year.

Mr. Richard Billings stated he would like to see Mr. Bruce Kelly get with the DA’s, Judges and other Department Heads, sit down and discuss this fund and how to solve this problem.

Mr. Kelly stated the budget process started in September. He will be sitting down with each Department to have the proposed budget done by November to be presented and voted on in December.

Discussion ensued.

Mr. Thomas Wells, Legal Counsel, stated when you are talking about revenues and cutting employee’s salary, the Jury is mandated to pay some expenses and mandated to pay some office funds. You cannot cherry pick individual programs. Somebody said it was 3% off. He suggested the Jury instruct all their mandated bodies to start looking at ways to reduce expenses by 3% for next year’s budget.

Discussion ensued.

On motion by Mr. Theodore Fountaine, seconded by Mr. Ollie Overton, to amend and adopt the General Fund Budget and to authorize the Treasurer to transfer $204,370.80 from the Unemployment Trust Fund to balance said Fund.

Roll call vote was as follows:

YEAS: Davron “Bubba” Moreau, Theodore Fountaine, Jr., Oliver “Ollie” Overton, Richard Billings and Scott Perry, Jr. NAYS: Joe Bishop, Richard Vanderlick and Sean McGlothlin ABSTAIN: Craig Smith

On roll call vote the motion carried 5 to 3.

On motion by Mr. Richard Billings, seconded by Mr. Joe Bishop, there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:32 p.m.