BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The Opelousas Board of Aldermen received a lesson in city police department payroll accounting Wednesday night, as Finance Committee members questioned several hourly wage documents affecting the pay for a former officer who resigned from the department in February.
Committee members are particularly interested in verifying the accuracy of pay invoices used to determine the number of hours ex-officer Savannah Butler worked for at least two events in 2023.
Butler, who is accused of using a firearm Dec. 22 whose alleged discharge at her home injured Police Chief Graig LeBlanc and his wife Crystal LeBlanc, is requesting that the city pay her $7,095 for 144 hours of unused sick leave and 231 of compensatory time.
The Board has granted a request by Butler to resign from the police department, but is delaying any decision in her effort to be paid for the sick leave and compensatory time.
After discussing the matter, the Committee voted to move the matter to the regular March monthly meeting.
Police Capt. Frank Boudreaux told committee members that city officers are normally paid using 80-hour pay periods. Boudreaux said work performed by hours that officers work after 80 hours is considered overtime.
Confirmation for officers’ work hours are usually established using radio contact by officers when they first enter their vehicles and leave for duty, Boudreaux said.
“The radio log backs up whether the officer is doing the job and then we back up that with the (payroll) documents that are placed in front of us,” Boudreaux said.
Committee members are specifically interested in examining whether Butler worked the 10 hours attributed to her for a school board meeting in 2023 and her assignment for assisting a funeral the day after she was allegedly involved in the shooting incident at her residence.
Although it might indicate that she worked the funeral, Boudreaux explained that after being planned for that duty, Butler was subsequently removed from that Dec. 23 detail.
Several committee members also told Boudreaux that it’s obvious school board meetings do not last 10 hours and they are having difficulty ascertaining exactly how officers are paid during their customary paid period as well as any overtime work.
“The 10 hours doesn’t match up with the time sheets and the hours (of the school board meeting). You have to understand, we’re not auditors,” said committee member John Guilbeaux.
Boudreaux pointed out that sometimes the payroll sheets during the 80-hour pay intervals include officers being moved around sporadically to different events or locations, depending on the situation.
“Sometimes you have an incident or a fight and we will send officers out to handle that, including extra patrols for big events like the OHS Homecoming,” Boudreaux said.
