There was barely an empty seat to be found at the town hall meeting in Port Barre earlier this month after concerns arose from discussion of downsizing the town’s police force.
During last month’s meeting, one of the orders of business proposed the possibility of cutting down on the number of commissioned police officers by the end of 2024. The proposition was brought up very briefly for discussion and in the June 4th Town Hall meeting Mayor Johnny Ardoin brought up a new proposed ordinance at the very end of the meeting, which left many residents upset and unsure exactly what was being proposed.
It was apparent by the number of concerned citizens and off-duty officers who were present at the meeting that the idea to limit the officers on staff was objectionable.
During the June meeting Mayor Ardoin expressed he felt the police department was already overstaffed. In a statement he made during an interview via phone Mayor Ardoin expressed he felt 8 officers was more than enough to patrol the town of Port Barre for its size in comparison with other towns that are similar in population.
Chief of Police Deon Boudreaux argued that there were no statutes which limit a town to a specified number of officers. He also explained that the Mayor’s comparison to other towns did not reflect additional stats that should be factored such as demographics, crime rates, the number of businesses, major highways, etc. The chief stated his department services an average of 300 police service calls a month, whereas the other towns they are being compared to only average between 30-60 service calls per month.
As a result of the ongoing dispute between the police department and Mayor Ardoin, an ordinance has been initiated that would directly impact the number of officers a police department can obtain. The Port Barre Police Department currently has 8 full-time police officers, only 4 of which are Academy-certified.
According to the Lawrason Act, an elected chief is to make recommendations to the mayor and board for appointment of police personnel. The elected chief of police has the inherent authority to control or administer the day to day operations of the police department, including equipment and work schedules, within the confines of the adopted budget; may make provisional appointments, subject to approval by the mayor and board alderman.
Chief Deon Boudreaux addressed his concerns for the safety of the town and the existing high demand his department is already met with daily. Chief Boudreaux expressed that the department is already understaffed with the overwhelming calls the town faces.
“We work two patrol officers per shift, and they work 12-hour shifts. When making the schedules, a post-certified officer must be placed with a non-post certified officer because the town cannot be patrolled by uncertified officers. One of our officers is in the Academy which takes 4 months for completion. That means, when a certified officer goes on vacation or gets sick or is subpoenaed to go to court or has to bring their child to a hospital, appointment or whatever reason they need to miss a scheduled work day, we are limited, and we have to restructure the schedule to have certified officers on duty.” stated Chief Boudreaux. Furthermore, he goes on to explain that he has 3 other officers that have to go to Academy within a year to become post-certified, during which time they will not be available to work on the road.
The Chief explained that they must have 2 officers on duty. However, often times officers have to be called in on their time off to assist when the department gets too busy or needs the extra manpower due to a large fight or a big case where the extra manpower is necessary for crowd control or investigative purposes and such.
“It’s just absolutely ridiculous the amount of overtime these guys have to work. They are exhausted. They should not be forced to work all the overtime they are working. They have families and a personal life and can’t even make plans because they know they will most likely be called into work.” Expressed Chief Boudreaux. “For many years now, we have been shorthanded running with a crew of anywhere from 4 to 8 police officers but mostly averaging around five or six, in which we cannot keep officers because they were working too much overtime.”
Budgeting Concerns
For 2023, the payroll taxes, according to the audit, were $48,000. The mayor’s salary is also $48,000 so the tax-paying officers pay his salary. “If he wants to cut the force he will also need to cut his salary.” This statement comes from a Lawrason Act researcher and former representative for APSO, who was able to provide facts from the 2023 Audit.
“It costs over $11,000 to send one officer to LA Post to become certified and it is required by the state.” The police department currently has 3 officers requiring post certification by a set date.
One city alderman also noted concerns with the budget explaining that large adjustments to the budget have to be accounted for in the future budget where money is allocated for such items as salaries, insurance, patrol units, car insurance, retirement, gas, uniforms, and car repairs/maintenance.
According to the auditor, however, it also provided that the police department brought in $580,000 last year. Chief says that his department used to bring in more when fully-staffed.
“Less officers would mean less revenue for the town.” He further explains that having more officers would cost less than having to pay the OT they are currently when they are short-handed, which is double what their average pay is.
The Chief went on to say he has never asked for additional officers to grow or expand the police department. His requests for additional hiring are to replace empty positions. “We are fortunate to have our officers, but it is not full staff.” He stated the department, when fully staffed, met between 10-11 officers. Chief explained he has had to cut programs which includes the inmate work crew due to short-staffing that limits his department from having an available work crew officer. He further explained since he has taken office as the Chief of Police he has also cut two additional positions the department had prior.
“When I took office, there was a communication supervisor position which we had dispatcher plus a supervisor. I got rid of that position. So minus one employee. Just recently, I got rid of the elderly assistant van ride employee. So that’s -2 employees.”
Serving St. Landry Parish
Another topic that was brought up during the early June meeting concerning the staff of the police department is their community service to the town and the parish. Currently there are 11 police departments and 2 marshal’s offices for St. Landry Parish. With the size of the parish, however, many of those offices are already short-staffed. The Port Barre Police Department has on numerous occasions, lent their assistance to the St. Landry Sheriff’s Office to help out in many cases when they are on the outside of town, which fall within the parish’s jurisdiction.
The Port Barre Police Department also hosts a summer youth mentoring program every year in which is run by the department and volunteers. The week-long program is provided for children who reside in Port Barre and offered free of charge strictly through donations and fundraising. The participants of the program learn bicycle safety, anti-bullying, CPR/First Aid, Drug awareness, self-defense, leadership/teamwork and much more, most of which is done through volunteered time. Chief says what many don’t realize is many of his officers take money from their own pockets to keep these programs going. “The town does not pay for these programs, donations and volunteers do.”
Many of the local residents are not in favor of the new ordinance and expressed their concerns on social media about the impact it may have on the police department’s ability to adequately protect their town.
“Crime rate is up and drugs are everywhere. We need more police on the streets!” Voiced a concerned citizen.
Another Port Barre resident I spoke with who has had former experience in law enforcement stated “our town is not like others. We have Hwy 190 running though it, a well known avenue for trafficking humans and drugs … over 500 strangers pass through our town a day.”
The next town hall meeting will be held on the first Tuesday of the month, set for July 2nd at 6pm in the Port Barre Town Hall meeting room. The new ordinance will be put to a vote before the town council at the next town hall meeting regarding the Composition of Police Department and General Duties of Chief of Police.
Ordinance-No.-1-Port-BarreResidents concerned about the ordinance passing are urged to contact their city aldermen, which can be found listed on the town’s page TownofPortBarre.com, for more information.
