The latest salvo in the debate between the Pointe Coupee Parish Police Jury and Sheriff Bud Torres overย funding day-to-day operations at the parish jail brought a rebuff from the police jury's attorney to Torres' request that the parish pay the salaries and benefits of deputies assigned to work at the jail.
It's a debate other parishes across the state also have been having.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Torres, attorney Leo Hamilton specifically cites La.R.S. 33:5522, which he says places onto local sheriffs the responsibility to pay for the salaries of all staff under their daily supervision.
"Surely, we all agree that the sheriff is the jailer for the parish and the security personnel employed by him are his deputies," Hamilton wrote. "Those individuals are to be paid salary from the sheriff's salary fund and not from the parish." ย ย
But Torres said Thursday another provision in state law lays the responsibility of funding day-to-day operations of local jails onto the shoulders of local municipalities.ย
"This is likely something that might have to be decided in the courts," Torres said. "This isn't the only situation where this debate is happening."
"I don't think the statute is perfectly clear," the sheriff said. "They believe what they believe and we believe what we believe. That's the tragedy of the situation."ย
The Pointe Coupee Parish Police Jury and Sheriff Bud Torres are locked in a battle about who…
Debate over who should be shelling out the more than $1.5 million a year it takes to cover the salaries and benefits of the 26 deputies assigned to maintain security at the parish jail is the latest point of contention between the Police Jury and Torres over funding at the jail.ย
Torres has already threatened to take the Police Jury to court if the parish doesn't fulfill its obligation to fund operations at the jailย โ which total $2.4 million annually.ย
In the past, Torres has fronted a lot of the jail's expenditures out of his budget and made the jury repay the Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office receives $7.5 million annually from a 15-mill dedicated property tax and pulls in additional revenue each year from various fees and intergovernmental agencies.
The sheriff has said previously he's looking to free up some funds to beef up patrols.
According to his 2017-18 fiscal year budget, Torres has outlined $8.9 million in expenditures and more than $11.7 million in revenue. ย ย
He said Thursday he doubts there would even be any tension over the matter between him and the parish if the Police Jury weren't dealing with such dire financial straits.
The Police Jury spends $875,000 annually to fund operations at the parish jail. But the parish collects only $100,000 a year in sales tax revenue to its Detention Center Fund. That means the Police Jury normally pulls the rest of the money it takes to keep the jail open from other funds.
The Police Jury is bucking at the idea of having to take on any more expenditures related to the jail since daily operations are already draining their coffers. And historically, it has always been understood the salaries of the prison guards was the sheriff's responsibility, jurors said previously. ย
Hamilton, in his letter, says: "While we have agreed, generally, with your office's interpretation of the provisions of (state law) that require the jury to provide a good and sufficient jail, we do not find that the provisions extend the costs for security personnel to the jury.
"We have told them that they are within their legal right to refuse making any payments that they are not legally obligated to make," Hamilton wrote.
Torres said his attorneys are reviewing Hamilton's letter and will craft response.ย