An East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council member has kept a taxpayer-owned, $36,000 off-road vehicle at his home, but says he broke no rules by doing so and uses it for his district.
City-parish records show council member Darryl Hurst bought the 2025 Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 Northstar with his District 5 budget in February. The money came from a new franchise fee the council imposed on Entergy in December.
The council member said the vehicle is kept "for the most part, in a trailer or office" at the center in his district, though "sometimes I'll ask somebody 'Hey man, let me store it here.'"
But on Monday and Tuesday, the vehicle was parked in his driveway at his house in Monticello, about a nine-mile drive east of the center. Several council districts have community centers which council members oversee, like Hurst's Charles R. Kelly Community Center in District 5.
Council Administrator Ashley Beck said it "is not proper" for a metro council member to keep a city-owned vehicle at a personal residence.
A Polaris off-road vehicle is seen in the driveway of District 5 Council Member Darryl Hurst’s house on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
When asked why the vehicle was in his driveway, Hurst said the enclosed trailer at the District 5 community center was full. He said he does not use it at his house.
"I'm not using it for personal, I only use it for community cleanup," Hurst said. "And because I have an event right across the street that was at Park Forest for Easter, and I drove it across the street and put in the driveway. Okay? That's why."
Hurst said the vehicle is used for "community-based events" and for his staff working at the community center.
"We have acreage, we go from building to building," Hurst said.
Hurst said "the reason why I did not move it, by the way, is because it requires an oil change right now that I need to go take and have done."
'It flipped over'
Last weekend, the vehicle was involved in some sort of accident, Hurst said. He did not provide details of what occurred except that people other than him were involved.
"It flipped over," he said. "Guess what? They were treated properly, no injuries."
Hurst did not say who was driving or in the vehicle or whether it was insured, but added that the accident was "reported properly."
A trailer wrapped in “Councilman Darryl Hurst” text sits in the parking lot of Charles R. Kelly Community Center on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
"They were going to pick up some weed eaters, to cut some grass. It was used for what it was purchased for," he said.
The council member would not say whether he was driving.
Hurst said his district was given two similar vehicles by city-parish departments in the past, but they were both stolen. He added that he bought the Polaris to replace those two previously donated vehicles.
In an email sent to a council administration staffer on Feb. 3, Hurst said only one of those vehicles was stolen.
"Unfortunately, one was stolen and the other broke and is too costly and old to invest in," Hurst wrote.
On Tuesday, Hurst said, "They have these in every department of city-parish. All I did was replace ours."
According to the city-parish's fleet management, several city-parish departments have side-by-side vehicles similar to the Polaris, though most of those departments "are maintenance-related" like buildings and grounds, said city-parish spokesperson Falon Brown Tuesday.
Police reports for the two vehicles Hurst said were stolen in the past could not be immediately obtained.
'Frivolous and unnecessary'
Each metro council member gets about $132,000-$170,000 per year for his or her budget, depending on district size. A new fee imposed on Entergy in December generated about $3.5 million in extra funds for some city-parish departments, including council districts.
That added about $100,000 to each council district. The rest of the money went to the parish criminal justice system.
District 12 council member Jennifer Racca, left, speaks with District 5 council member Darryl Hurst during the last meeting of the metro council for the year, Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at City Hall in Baton Rouge, La.
Records show that Hurst used some of his district's share of the fee to buy the Polaris from Friendly Yamaha in Baton Rouge on Feb. 7.
District 12 Council Member Jen Racca, who co-authored the resolution to secure the Entergy funds, said an off-road vehicle purchase was “certainly not” what she had in mind for the money.
"Most council members are incredibly concerned with cuts and layoffs. This seems like a frivolous and unnecessary purchase that comes with an extreme amount of liability," Racca said in a text message Tuesday after learning of the purchase. "No wonder the Mayor's office is conducting budget reduction meetings. I am not certain how one would even go about getting a vehicle purchase approved when council members already receive a car allowance."
Beck said purchases with council budgets do not need direct approval by the parish purchasing department or council administration, and elected council members may use their budgets as they choose.
Hurst's former colleague, Chauna Banks, who represented District 2 from 2013 through 2024, was recently scrutinized for storing city-parish-owned property outside of her district's community center or office.
A city-parish audit of the Jewel J. Newman Community Center released in May found that several items bought by and belonging to District 2 had been moved to the old Scotlandville Fire Station across the street.
