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[1. Call to Order]
AND SO THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL BUDGET MEET HERE AND HERE.INFORMATIONAL MEETING IS BEING CALLED TO ORDER ON THIS FRIDAY, DECEMBER THE SIXTH, 2024 AT 11:00 AM AND SO
[2. Presentations by: A. District Attorney B. Police Department]
TODAY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE WILL HAVE A PRESENTATION BY OUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND BY OUR CHIEF OF POLICE, OR I SHOULD SAY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AT THAT TIME.AFTER EACH PRESENTATIONS, THERE WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
AND SO AT THIS TIME, WE'RE GONNA ASK THAT OUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY, COME ON DOWN MORNING.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE, AND THANKS FOR TAKING ME AHEAD OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE.
UH, SO, UM, THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND EXPLAIN WHERE WE ARE.
UM, WE DO HAVE A POWERPOINT AND, UH, THE TITLE IS NOT EXACTLY FOR TODAY.
IT WAS FOR A DIFFERENT PURPOSE, BUT BEAR WITH ME ON THE TITLE.
UH, WE ARE, UH, STRUGGLING AS AN OFFICE AND WE'VE BEEN STRUGGLING AS AN OFFICE FOR YEARS.
UH, SO THIS IS NOTHING TO DO WITH A CURRENT SITUATION OR CLIMATE, JUST IS HOW IT IS.
UH, OBVIOUSLY WE WERE PREPARING FOR 5% BUDGET CUT, UH, WHICH IS AGAIN, GONNA HURT US.
WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GIVE ANY, UH, CONSIDER ANY TYPE OF RAISES THIS YEAR FOR EMPLOYEES BECAUSE OF THE SITUATION, KNOWING THAT THERE WAS A POTENTIAL CUT.
SO WE CHOSE NOT TO DO THAT, WHICH, WHICH WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
UM, BUT I HAVE A MORE DETAIL FOR MORE DETAIL FOR YOU.
I HAVE OUR CPA JOHN DAILEY WHO PREPARED THIS POWERPOINT, CAN ACTUALLY WALK YOU THROUGH AND SHOW YOU WHERE WE ARE AND THEN HOW WE COMPARE WITH THE TWO OTHER JURISDICTIONS, PARTICULARLY ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON.
AND WHEN I SAY, UH, THAT WE'VE BEEN CHRONICALLY UNDERFUNDED, THIS IS NOT JUST A CITY PARISH MATTER, IT'S ALSO A STATE MATTER.
SO AS YOU KNOW, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY IS A STATE OFFICE.
WE PROSECUTE STATE CRIMES, AND YOU'LL HEAR FROM JOHN, ONLY 20% OF OUR BUDGET COMES FROM THE STATE.
AND WHAT THE STATE PAYS US IS WHAT'S CALLED A WARRANT.
AND WE HAVE CURRENTLY, I THINK 55 OR 50 SO WARRANTS FROM THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, AND THEY PAY $60,000 PER WARRANT.
AND THAT WARRANT IS ONLY FOR THE ASSISTANT DAS, AND THAT'S A BASE SALARY FOR SOMEONE COMING IN AT $60,000.
SO THEY GIVE US 60,000 FOR 55 ATTORNEYS.
UH, THEY DON'T PAY ANY OF THE OTHER COSTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A PERSON'S SALARY, HEALTH BENEFITS, YOU NAME IT, UH, RAISES DOWN, THE ROAD INCREASES, AND YOU JUST, WE JUST CANNOT HIRE FOLKS FOR THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY AND, AND KNOW KEEP THEM THAT AMOUNT.
SO ANY OTHER MONEY OVER AND ABOVE THE 60,000, WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY AND RAISE THAT.
THE STATE DOES PAY A LITTLE BIT ALSO FOR A FEW VICTIMS ASSISTANCE COUNSELORS, AND IT'S ONLY A HANDFUL THAT THEY GIVE TO US.
WE HAVE MORE THAN THE STATE ALLOWS 'CAUSE WE NEED THEM WITH THE AMOUNT OF CASES THAT WE HAVE.
UM, ALSO WHEN YOU COMPARE BATON ROUGE AND THE WARRANTS THAT WE RECEIVED COMPARED TO JEFFERSON AND COMPARED TO ORLEANS, WE ARE WAY BEHIND.
THE STATE HAS BEEN TRYING TO CATCH US UP.
UH, BUT EVEN WHEN THEY DO CATCH US UP TO GIVE US THE BARE MINIMAL, AND WE THEN HAVE TO FIND MONEY FOR ALL OF THE REST.
SO, GIVEN, UH, THE CURRENT STRUCTURE IN THE STATE OF CRIME IN BATON ROUGE AND HISTORICALLY WHERE WE'VE BEEN, UH, AND COMPARING US TO ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON, JEFFERSON MAYBE HAS 20 MURDERS A YEAR.
ARLENE'S, AS YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR, HAS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS US, BUT THEY HAVE 90 SLOTS FOR 88 SLOTS FOR ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
JEFFERSON HAS AROUND 70 ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS FOR ONLY 20 MURDERS A YEAR.
AND MURDERS ARE THE BIGGEST CASE WE HAVE 'EM WITH, DRIVES US ALL.
UH, ALSO, FOR EXAMPLE, ORLEANS, I, I BELIEVE THAT I WAS TOLD THAT THEY HAVE CURRENTLY ACTIVE PENDING 3,300 CASES.
AND COMPARED TO THE 19TH, WHICH IS 12,000, UH, IT'S A LOT.
UM, AND THE REASON THAT I, I BROUGHT UP THE TAXES THAT I KNOW THAT CITY, JUST BASED ON WHAT I SEE, JUST DOESN'T APPEAR TO HAVE THE MONEY TO PUT US ON PAR WITH ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON, WHICH WOULD MEAN PROBABLY ANOTHER $10 MILLION A YEAR.
AND THAT IS, I THINK IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT AND INCREASE OUR STAFF AND KEEP UP WITH TECHNOLOGY, WHICH IS REALLY KILLING US RIGHT NOW, I THINK YOU'D SEE A, A HUGE REDUCTION IN THE BACKLOG OF CASES BECAUSE IT WOULD CUT THE CASE LOAD PER A DA DOWN.
BUT WHAT WE'LL ALSO DO IS ALLOW US TO HAVE A SCREENING SECTION THERE.
AS CASES COME INTO THE OFFICE, LET US SCREEN THEM AHEAD OF TIME TO FIND OUT WHICH CASES WE NEED TO PROCEED FORWARD, WHICH ONES CAN BE DIVERTED.
AND WE COULD ALSO, AT THE SAME TIME, PROTECTING THE PUBLIC ALSO HELP VICTIMS AND HELP DEFENDANTS.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, ARLENE, I'M TOLD, HAS 13 SCREENERS THAT JUST DO NOTHING BUT SCREEN CASES AS THEY COME IN.
UM, AND IT'S JUST BEEN HOW IT'S BEEN HERE,
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UH, FOREVER.SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT HAVING BEEN THE DA NOW 16 YEARS, BUT HAVING WORKED AROUND THIS OFFICE FOUR 50, I CAN NOW SEE IT ON THE PEOPLE'S FACES.
THE STRESS THAT THEY'RE SEEING, HEARING FROM SOME OF THE LADIES THAT HAVE LEFT THAT ARE TALENTED, UH, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS HAVE MOVED ON TO OTHER HIGHER PAYING AND LESS STRESS STRESSFUL JOBS THAT, UH, ONE IS SHE SAID, I'M, I FEEL LIKE I'M A HALF MOTHER TO MY CHILD.
UH, AND THE SAME THING WITH THE DAD, BECAUSE WE WANT THEM NOT ONLY TO WORK, WANT 'EM TO BE COACHES AND DO ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU WANT FOLKS TO DO, AND IT'S HARD FOR THEM TO KEEP UP AND YOU CAN JUST NOW SEE IT ON THEIR FACES AND HEAR IT.
UM, AND SO I DO, I DO THINK THAT AFFECTS THE, THE EFFICIENCY OF OUR JOB AND THE, THE QUALITY THAT WE PUT OUT.
UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS FOLLOWING THE FLOOD, WE HAD 150 MURDERS AND IT WENT DOWN, BUT THOSE ARE HIGH, HIGH NUMBERS FOR OUR STAFF OF 55 ASSISTANT DAS.
AND OUR STAFF IS EXTREMELY YOUNG NOW, BUT THEY'RE VERY AGGRESSIVE, UH, AND FAIR.
UM, AND TO ADD TO THAT, JUST WITHIN TWO MONTHS WE LOST FIVE ASSISTANT DAS WHO ACTUALLY WERE SECTION CHIEFS, HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN THE 19TH TO JUST WITH DISTRICT, TOOK TWO VERY SENIOR ATTORNEYS, SECTION CHIEFS AS WELL, AND MADE THEM COMMISSIONERS.
SO WITHIN A PERIOD OF A COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE LOST DECADES OF, UH, EXPERIENCE.
AND SO IT'S TOUGH TO REPLACE THEM.
SO, UH, WITHOUT TAKING TOO MUCH MORE OF YOUR TIME, I'D LIKE FOR MR. DALEY TO COME OUT, EXPLAIN TO YOU THE BUDGET, WALK YOU THROUGH IT, AND SHOW YOU WHERE WE ARE.
WE UNDERSTAND WE HAVE TO BE TEAM PLAYERS, THAT WE'RE NOT THE ONLY PERSON HERE ASKING FOR MONEY.
AND SO WE UNDERSTAND THE POSITION THAT YOU GUYS ARE IN AND, UH, WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD.
CAN YOU GUYS SEE THE POWERPOINT? OKAY, GREAT.
SO I'LL RATTLE OFF A FEW OF THESE.
UM, REAL QUICK, AS HILLER SAID, THIS WAS PREPARED FOR SOMETHING ELSE, SO I PROBABLY WON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON ALL THE SLIDES.
UM, OUR ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGETS AROUND 16, 17 MILLION GENERAL FUNDS, SOMEWHERE IN THE BALLPARK OF 14 15 MILLION.
UM, AS HILLER SAID, WE'RE CHRONICALLY UNDERFUNDED COMPARED TO OUR PEERS.
ONE THING HE SAID THOUGH WAS THAT, UH, A DA WARRANTS FROM THE STATE PAYS 60.
UM, SO WE HAVE TO MAKE UP THE EXTRA 60 IS HOURS STARTING SALARY FOR OUR ATTORNEYS, SO WE HAVE TO MAKE UP THAT EXTRA, UM, JUST ON THE SALARY.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE BENEFITS COST AS WELL.
SO OUR BUDGET ISSUES, NOTHING NEW OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS.
EIGHT OF THOSE, WE HAVE BEEN OPERATING ON A BUDGET DEFICIT.
UM, AS Y'ALL KNOW, THIS YEAR, CITY PARISH IS PROPOSING A 5% REDUCTION.
UM, OVERALL, OUR BREAKDOWN OF BUDGET, 50 TO 60% COMES FROM CITY PARISH.
UH, ANOTHER 18 TO 22% ON AVERAGE IS FROM STATE OF LOUISIANA.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO PRETTY MUCH GENERATE THE REST.
WE LEVERAGE OUR PRETRIAL INTERVENTION, UM, AND OTHER THINGS.
HOWEVER, THOSE SELF-GENERATED REVENUES HAVE STEADILY DECREASED, UH, PRETTY MUCH SINCE THE PANDEMIC.
AND AS YOU KNOW, GRANTS AREN'T A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE OF FUNDING.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS ACTUALLY JUST SHOWING YOU SOME STATISTICAL CHANGES BETWEEN WHAT WE HAVE, UH, HOMICIDES IN RED, BLUE IS THE CITY PARISH, CITY PARISH BUDGET APP, EXCUSE ME, ALLOCATION.
AND THEN THE GREEN IS OUR PERCENT CHANGE IN, UH, DA EXPENDITURES.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, IT'S BEEN PRETTY CONSISTENT, UM, YEAR OVER YEAR, I WANNA SAY CITY PARISH, YES, 4.5% HAS INCREASED OUR BUDGET.
OUR EXPENDITURES HAVE INCREASED ABOUT THE SAME, BUT HOMICIDES ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE.
UH, THIS IS A GRAPHIC THAT WAS PREPARED BY OUR AUDITORS, AND WHAT IT SHOWS HERE IS THE, THE ANNUAL DEFICIENCY IN PERSONNEL COSTS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT AND THOSE THAT ARE ACTUALLY REIMBURSED BY THE CITY PARISH.
SO I WANNA SAY IT LOOKS LIKE 1.27 MILLION PER YEAR IS OUR, UH, DEFICIT ON THOSE COSTS.
UM, AND THEN WHAT WE DID IS WE LOOKED AT SOME OF OUR PEER OFFICES AROUND THE STATE 10, UH, THAT COVER APPROXIMATELY 66% OF THE TOTAL STATE'S POPULATION.
UM, WHAT WE DID HERE FOR THIS PRESENTATION IS JUST LOOKED AT THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION.
UM, IT WAS A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO GET OTHER DATA METRICS, BUT WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THOSE TO CREATE A MORE ROBUST AND COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS.
HERE IS THE LIST OF THOSE OFFICES.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY'RE RANKED IN ORDER, EAST BATON ROUGE DA'S OFFICES RANKED NUMBER ONE BASED ON POPULATION.
AND, UM, AND THEN CLICK IT AGAIN, I THINK IT HAS, THERE YOU GO.
WHAT YOU'LL SEE AT THE NEXT TWO MOST POPULATED JURISDICTIONS, JEFFERSON PARISH AND ORLEANS PARISH RECEIVE IN TOTAL 48%
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AND 35% RESPECTIVELY MORE IN REVENUES THAN EBR.THIS IS JUST A GRAPH SHOWING POPULATION.
OBVIOUSLY IT'S RANKED IN ORDER 19TH, THAT'S US EAST BATON ROUGE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IN NUMBER ONE SPOT ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UH, 18TH, WHICH IS WEST BATON ROUGE.
UM, THIS ONE, YOU CAN, THIS IS JUST SHOWING TOTAL REVENUES AND TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR 2023 COMPARED BY OFFICE.
AND AGAIN, THEY'RE RANKED IN ORDER.
THIS ONE I KIND OF WANNA TALK ABOUT A LITTLE LONGER.
SO ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, WHAT WE HAVE IS REVENUES PER CAPITA BY OFFICE.
AND ON THE LEFT HAND, I MEAN, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE IS THE EXPENDITURES, A FEW THINGS.
SO ON AVERAGE, UH, THE REVENUES RECEIVED BY EACH OFFICE, UM, PER CAPITA WAS $41 3 CENTS PER PERSON.
BELOW THAT, WE ARE MORE ON PAR WITH 22ND AND 23RD JADA'S OFFICE, WHICH 22ND HAS TWO THIRDS.
THE SIZE POPULATION AS EVR AND 23RD HAS LESS THAN HALF.
UM, WHEN YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT THE TOP THREE JURISDICTIONS, POPULATION WISE, EVR JEFFERSON ORLEANS, UM, WE RECEIVE ABOUT 53 AND 61%.
UM, THEY, I'M SORRY, THEY RECEIVED 53 AND 61% MORE PER CAPITA IN REVENUE RESPECTIVELY THAN WE DID ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE.
WE SPENT ABOUT NINE PER 9.6, SO APPROXIMATELY 10% LESS THAN OUR PEERS DID PER CAPITA.
AND SO THAT AMOUNTS TO 40% AND 57%, UH, THAT OUR PEERS, UH, IN ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON ARE SPENDING PER CAPITA.
THIS SHOWS THE LOCAL APPROPRIATIONS.
SO WHEN I PULLED THE AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS TO PREPARE THIS INFORMATION, I WANTED TO NARROW THE FOCUS AND LOOK AT JUST WHAT EACH DA'S OFFICE RECEIVED FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE PARISH GOVERNING AUTHORITIES.
SO THAT'S WHAT THIS IS SHOWING HERE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR PEERS, ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON, NUMBER TWO AND THREE SPOT RECEIVED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE FROM THEIR MUNICIPALITIES AND PARISH THAN, THAN, UH, WE DID IN 2023.
THIS ONE SHOWS TOTAL REVENUES COMPARED TO THOSE LOCAL APPROPRIATIONS.
UH, IN 2023, E-B-R-D-A RECEIVED ABOUT 53% OF ITS TOTAL BUDGET FROM CITY PARISH.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT PER CAPITAL, WHICH IS GOING TO BE ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THERE YOU GO.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT PER CAPITAL, THE AVERAGE IS ABOUT $19 73 CENTS.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT ORLEANS IN JEFFERSON, THEN THE AVERAGE IS IN THE BALLPARK OF $27, UM, PER CAPITA, CURRENTLY, E-B-R-D-A IS AT 1895.
SO THAT'S THE LOCAL APPROPRIATION AND TOTAL REVENUE, LOCAL APPROPRIATION AMOUNT THAT WE, THAT WE RECEIVE PER PERSON.
AND SO WE'RE KIND OF REALLY, WE'RE ON PAR WITH 23RD, WHICH IS SERVING A POPULATION ONLY A THIRD THE SIZE OF EAST BATON ROUGE.
SO ULTIMATELY OUR BUDGET REQUEST FOR 2025 WAS A LITTLE OVER $9 MILLION, WHICH EFFECTIVELY WAS A 4% INCREASE OVER 2024.
THE PROPOSED BUDGET BOND CITY PARISH WAS A 5% DECREASE AT 8.2, APPROXIMATELY 8.3 MILLION.
SO THAT'S A TOTAL DIFFERENCE OF ABOUT 784,000 OR 9% DIFFERENCE.
SO THIS IS SHOWING, UM, WHERE I GUESS E-B-R-D-E-A THEORETICALLY SHOULD BE IN COMPARISON TO ITS PEERS.
SO YOU'LL SEE IF WE'RE USING 2020 THREE'S AVERAGE REVENUE PER CAPITA, WHICH IS $41 3 CENTS, THEN THAT MEANS E-B-R-D-A WOULD NEED TO BE AROUND $18.74 MILLION IN ANNUAL TOTAL REVENUE, OR 15.4% MORE THAN WHAT IT ACTUALLY RECEIVED IN 2023.
HOWEVER, IF WE USE 2020 THREE'S REVENUE PER CAPITA AVERAGE OF E BDAS, TWO CLOSEST PEERS, JEFFERSON AND ORLEANS, THEN OUR TOTAL REVENUE AMOUNT FOR 23 SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE BALLPARK OF 25.5 MILLION, OR 57.2% MORE THAN WE ACTUALLY WERE.
SO IF WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, 2023 AVERAGE LOCAL APPROPRIATION, SO THIS IS JUST AGAIN, WHAT WAS APPROPRIATED TO EACH DA DA OFFICE, A BIAS RESPECTIVE MUNICIPALITY AND PARISH AUTHORITIES, UH, THAT DOLLAR AMOUNTS 1973 PER PERSON, UH, USING THAT AVERAGE.
THEN OUR APPROPRIATION IN 23 FROM CITY PARISH WOULD'VE BEEN IN THE BALLPARK OF WHAT WE'RE REQUESTING FOR 2025, WHICH IS A LITTLE OVER $9 MILLION OR 4.2% MORE THAN WHAT WE ACTUALLY GOT.
HOWEVER, IF YOU JUST NARROW AND LOOK AT EBR DA'S, PEERS,
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ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON, THEN THE LOCAL APPROPRIATION WOULD'VE BEEN IN THE BALLPARK OF 12.5 MILLION OR 44% MORE THAN WHAT WE ACTUALLY GOT.SO THIS GRAPHIC HERE IS JUST SHOWING THE CONSEQUENCE OF UNDERFUNDING.
AGAIN, THIS IS RANKED FROM LEFT TO RIGHT IN ORDER OF MOST POPULATED TO LEAST EAST BATON ROUGE LOST THE MOST OUT OF ALL THE OFFICES WE EXAMINED FOR 2023.
UM, AND THEY WERE ONE OF ONLY TWO.
THE ONLY OTHER ONE WAS EIGHT 18TH JDA AT THE END THERE ACROSS THE RIVER, WHICH TO ME WOULD EXPLAIN THE NEED FOR THEM FOR HAVING TO GO OUT FOR ATTACKS.
THIS IS SHOWING THE SAME THING, BUT JUST ON A PER CAPITA BASIS, ON A PER CAPITA BASIS, THEY ACTUALLY LOST MORE ACROSS THE RIVER THAN WE DID IN 2023.
HOWEVER, UM, THERE'S A NOTE AT THE BOTTOM.
IT SAYS EB DA'S PEERS ORLEANS JEFFERSON PER CAPITA PROFIT WAS 532% AND 120% MORE THAN OUR PER CAPITA PROFIT IN 2023.
UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF JUST WRAPPING IT UP.
YOU KNOW, EBR IS THE MOST POPULATED PARISH IN THE STATE.
UM, AT THIS RATE, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST NOT SUSTAINABLE FOR US TO CONTINUE, UH, AT THE CURRENT FUNDING LEVEL THAT WE'RE AT, PARTICULARLY GIVEN THE HIGH CRIME RATES PRECIPITOUS RISE IN VIOLENCE.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, IT ONLY INCREASES THE DEMAND AND COSTS FOR SERVICES IN THOSE AREAS, UM, WHEN THEY'RE UNDERSERVED.
AND SO IT ALSO COSTS US MORE TO HIRE, UH, IT COSTS MORE TO HIRE A NEW PERSON THAN IT IS TO KEEP, THAN IT DOES TO KEEP SOMEONE.
UH, SO THEREFORE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE KIND OF IN A POSITION WHERE WE ARE CONSIDERING THAT PROPERTY TAX.
UM, AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION COVERS IS OUR EXAMINATION OF HOW MUCH AND WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
HOWEVER, UM, JUST TO WRAP IT UP, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S NOTHING NEW.
UM, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT'S THE CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES, UM, THAT ARE GOING ON, BUT, BUT IT'S MORE SO JUST A CHRONIC HISTORIC, UH, ISSUE.
AND LIKE HILLARY ALLUDED TO, IT DOES SEEM TO BE, UH, NOT UNIQUE TO US.
IT SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE ACROSS THE STATE FOR ALL OFFICES.
I AM HERE FOR QUESTIONS AND I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE THIS TO ANYONE WHO MAY WANT A COPY OF IT.
ANY QUESTIONS? WE'RE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK Y'ALL FOR COMING TO SPEAK WITH US AND PRESENT THIS.
UM, DO Y'ALL HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT TYPE OF MILLAGE OR AMOUNT OF MILLAGE THAT YOU MIGHT ASK FOR? YEAH, SO, UH, MY ASSUMPTION WOULD BE THAT IF WE WENT OUT FOR THE TAX AND RECEIVED THE TAX THAT YOU OR THE CITY PARISH WOULD NO LONGER FUND US THE MONEY THAT YOU FUND NOW BECAUSE IT WOULD BE SUSTAINABLE.
AND SO AT THE BUDGET THAT WHAT WE THINK THAT WE SHOULD BE WOULD BE $24 MILLION BUDGET A YEAR TO KEEP UP WITH OUR LIENS IN JEFFERSON.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD EQUATE TO A 4 MILLION TAX.
AND IF, IF, UH, WE GO FORWARD, WHICH WE'RE PLANNING ON, THAT WOULD BE HELD ON, UH, MAY 3RD, MAY 3RD.
AND SO THAT WOULD EFFECTIVELY ALSO CLEAR UP OR, OR OPEN UP $8.2 MILLION YES.
IN GENERAL FUND DOLLARS FOR THE CITY PARISH.
AND MY SUGGESTION, I DON'T, I HAVE NO, UH, AUTHORITY OVER THIS, IS THAT RIGHT? I KNOW THE PUBLIC DEFENDER IS HERE AND AS THE DA INCREASES, WHICH WE WANT TO, AND WE THINK WE NEED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE, WE ALSO HAVE TO BE MINDFUL THAT COURTS AND THE PUBLIC DEFENDER HAS TO ALSO, UH, INCREASE AS THE DA DOES.
'CAUSE WE CAN'T HAVE A LOPSIDED SYSTEM.
AND SO I KNOW THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S IN THE SAME POSITION WE'RE IN, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT MAYBE THAT MONEY COULD ALSO GO TO, TO THEM BECAUSE WE CAN'T BE, WE CAN'T OPERATE WITHOUT A SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE AND ONE THAT'S FUNDED WITH US, BUT ALSO THINK AT THE SAME TIME, WE ALSO ARE GOING TO PROBABLY BE ABLE, ABLE TO SERVE BETTER THE POPULATION, NOT ONLY THE VICTIMS, BUT THE DEFENDANTS AND THEN ALL THE OTHERS THAT COME ACROSS THE SYSTEM, BE ABLE TO SLOW DOWN AND TAKE MORE TIME AND ACTUALLY GET A BETTER PRODUCT AT, AT THE END.
AND, UH, CLEAR UP THE BACKLOG.
AND THE HOPE ALWAYS IS THAT THAT, UH, BETTER SYSTEM OF JUSTICE WILL CUT DOWN ON THE AMOUNT OF CRIME AND THE PEOPLE THAT COME THROUGH THE SYSTEM BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING TREATED BETTER, UH, BY ALL INVOLVED, ALL OF THE PARTIES INVOLVED.
UH, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD.
WHEN YOU SAID Y'ALL DIDN'T DO ANY TYPE OF RAISES, DID, DID Y'ALL NOT EVEN DO MERIT RAISES THIS YEAR? THERE'S NOTHING BUILT IN OUR BUDGET.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT OUR BUDGET IS UNTIL YOU TELL US IT'S RIGHT NOW.
SO WE REALLY CAN'T PLAN AHEAD UNLESS WE HAVE SURPLUS THAT WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE ENOUGH.
BUT HISTORIC THE LAST FEW YEARS WE HAVE NOT HAD SURPLUS TO DO THAT.
SO NO, THERE'S BEEN ABSOLUTELY NO, UH, GOTCHA.
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UP REAL QUICK? SO I THINK WE WERE ABLE TO DO MERIT RAISES ACROSS THE REST OF CITY PARISH.DID Y'ALL LOOK AT THIS WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO SEE, SO HOW INTERNALLY WE'RE FUNDING MERIT RAISES IS GENERATING SAVINGS WITHIN YOUR BUDGET? SO NO ONE WAS GIVEN ADDITIONAL DOLLARS FOR MERITS.
THEY WERE THROUGH ATTRITION OR FREEZING POSITIONS AND VACANCIES.
AND I THINK ON THE PAGE OF THE, UH, DA'S OFFICE, IT SAYS THAT THEY DID REQUEST, UH, SALARY INCREASES, HOWEVER, DUE TO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS THAT WOULD NEED TO BE GENERATED SOME WITHIN THEIR BUDGET.
AS WE'RE DOING, AND THE SAME WENT WITH US FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS.
PREVIOUS, WE WERE NOT FILLING OTHER SPOTS TO MAKE SURE WE HAD AT LEAST SOME MONEY THAT WE COULD SAVE.
AND THIS YEAR WE'RE GONNA REALLY BE KIND OF BREAKING EVEN AND OBVIOUSLY WAITING ON A CHECK FOR, UH, THE DNA OUTSOURCING THAT YOU GUYS GAVE US.
'CAUSE WE HAD TO PAY THAT BILL RECENTLY.
BUT WE WILL STAND THERE, BREAK EVEN.
AND THEN HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY OPEN POSITIONS YOU CURRENTLY HAVE? UH, ONE OR TWO FOR LAWYERS AND, UH, ONE OR TWO FOR INVESTIGATORS.
UH, YOU KNOW, BUT WE ARE STILL TRYING TO HOLD OUR OWN RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE, WE NEED MORE, BUT I JUST CAN'T, I CAN'T HIRE 'EM.
BUT YOU HAVE, DO YOU HAVE OPEN POSITIONS FOR ADAS AS WELL OR? PROBABLY ONE OR TWO.
TRACY
SO THOSE POSITIONS ARE EFFECTIVELY YES.
UM, THAT WAS GREAT PRESENTATION AND, UM, I, I APPRECIATE AT THE ONSET RECOGNIZING THAT Y'ALL AREN'T THE ONLY ONES ASKING.
AND, AND, UH, THIS IS ACROSS EVERY DEPARTMENT AND, AND, UH, AS Y'ALL STATED ACROSS THE STATE, UM, I DID WANT TO ASK, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE ANALYSIS THAT WAS DONE, UM, AND FORGIVE ME IF I MISSED THIS AT ANY POINT IN THE PRESENTATION, I SEE THERE WAS A LOT OF COMPARISON TO ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON, UM, AS PEER, UH, CITIES POPULATION WISE.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE MOST OF THE METRICS WERE BASED ON A PER CAPITA BASIS, WHICH SEEMS APPROPRIATE.
'CAUSE I WOULD IMAGINE THERE ARE STATISTICS THAT SHOW, YOU KNOW, PER POPULATION X AMOUNT IS GONNA, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE X AMOUNT OF CRIME PER PERCENTAGE.
BUT IS THERE A SPECIFIC, UM, OR IS THERE DATA OR METRICS THAT SHOW HOW WE COMPARE IN RECENT HISTORY, SAY PAST FIVE YEARS TO ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON ON, ON CRIME STATISTICS? LIKE DO WE HAVE MORE CRIME OR DO THEY, I I KNOW Y'ALL PROBABLY KNOW THAT.
AND, AND HOW DO THE NUMBERS LOOK WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU LOOK, UM, AT THOSE STATISTICS ON CRIME RATES SPECIFICALLY VERSUS PER CAPITA? I CAN PRETTY MUCH, UH, FOR DIFFERENT POWERPOINT.
UH, WEDNESDAY AT THE ROTARY, I HAVE SOME COMPARISONS BETWEEN US AND ORLEANS.
GENERALLY JEFFERSON, THEIR HOMICIDE RATE IS, WHICH KIND OF DRIVES ALL OF US.
IT'S 20 A 25 A YEAR MURDERS MM-HMM
ORLEANS TYPICALLY 200 TO A HUNDRED, UH, IN BATON ROUGE.
UH, NORMAL YEARS, USED TO BE EIGHTIES, RECENTLY WE'RE IN THE HUNDREDS.
I THINK THE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN GOING DOWN SINCE COVID MM-HMM
ALTHOUGH THIS YEAR MAYBE UP ONE OR TWO.
BUT I STILL THINK WE'RE GONNA EVENTUALLY BE ON A DOWNWARD TR UH, UH, SLOPE.
UH, BUT I CAN GET YOU THAT SLIDE.
UH, BUT ARLENE, UM, IS IS GRADUALLY COMING DOWN MM-HMM
AND I THINK THAT A LOT THAT HAS TO DO WITH ENS AND I HAVE TO HAVE AN ASTERISK.
WE, I DON'T THINK WE CAN REALLY JUDGE ENS RIGHT NOW 'CAUSE IT'S ONLY BEEN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THAT THEIR, UH, TRAJECTORY HAS GONE DOWN.
I THINK WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT.
BUT THEY HAVE THE PROJECT NOLA, NOLA, UH, COALITION MM-HMM
WHERE I THINK THEY'RE RAISING MAYBE 15 MILLION A YEAR.
AND IT'S NOT ONLY HELPING THE POLICE AND THE DA, BUT IT'S THE COMMUNITY ON THE BOTTOM.
AND I THINK EVERYONE HAVE ALWAYS SAID, WE'RE NOT GONNA POLICE OUR WAY OUT OF THIS OR DA U WAY OUT OF IT.
IT'S GOTTA BE COMMUNITY HELPING THEMSELVES.
AND I REALLY THINK A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH IS, UH, HOW WILL I, WILLS OF THE, UH, PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM.
AND I THINK YOU'RE GONNA SEE VERY SHORTLY A STUDY DONE BY BRAF THAT IT'S THE DA SCHOOL BOARD AND BRA PUT TOGETHER WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS, 120,000 STUDENTS.
UM, AND IT LOOKS AT THEIR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND IT SHOWS YOU CLEARLY WHERE THERE ARE GAPS IN SERVICES AND HOW IF YOU FIX THAT GAP IN SERVICE, THAT YOU'RE GONNA PREVENT THAT KID FROM GOING INTO THE LIFE THAT HE IS.
AND I THINK THAT WILL HAVE BE TRANSFORMATIVE FOR BATON ROUGE IF WE'RE ABLE TO PUT THE MONEY IN AND FIX THAT.
AND A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION MM-HMM
AND IT'S NOT ONLY THAT YOU JUST OFFER EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, IT'S THE RIGHT ONE.
IT CAN'T BE ONE THAT JUST POPS UP AND IT HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON A CHILD'S LIFE, BUT WE ARE SEE DEALING
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WITH THAT LACK OF EDUCATION ALL THE TIME MM-HMMIN THE TRUANCY NUMBERS WE HAVE.
AND I THINK WE'RE ABLE TO PAY MUCH MORE ATTENTION TO THAT THAN YOU'RE GONNA SEE US DO WHAT NOLA IS DOING AND HAVE A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE.
SO JUST, JUST TO KIND OF STEP BACK, YOU, YOU THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, YOU WOULD SEE A SIMILAR DISPARITY IF YOU DID IT ON A PER CRIME BASIS VERSUS A PER CAPITA YES.
UM, DISTRICT ATTORNEY MOORE, UM, IS, IS THE TRUCE PROGRAM FUNDED THROUGH YOUR OFFICE? UH, YES.
SO WE PAY FOR THE ASSISTANT DA THAT RUNS THE PROGRAM AND SO IT'S KIND OF WASH PAY THROUGH, UM, BUT WE JUST SELF GENERATE MONEY THROUGH TRUCE.
IT'S, UH, IT'S PRETTY MUCH TWO EMPLOYEES.
IT'S, UH, ALA AND THEN ANOTHER STAFF MEMBER AND THEN ONE FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD, BUT THAT'S IT.
THOSE TWO ARE INCLUDED UNDER YOUR UH, PERSONAL YES.
UNDER YOUR, UNDER YOUR BUDGET.
AND THEN ARE THERE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT HELPED TO FUND THE PROGRAM? THERE WERE SOME THERE, THERE WERE GONE NOW.
UM, I, FORGIVE ME IF THIS WAS IN THE POWERPOINT, 53% APPROXIMATELY OF YOUR BUDGET IS CITY PARISH FUNDING? YES.
LEMME I LOOK AT YOUR CPA ON THIS.
IS THAT PERCENTAGE SIMILAR FOR THE COMPARABLE UH, UH, PARISHES IT PARISH BY PARISH? AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S A SLIDE IN THERE THAT WILL SHOW YOU THERE.
IF I MISSED IT, I APOLOGIZES IT.
EVERY PARISH IS, IS SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT.
I WANNA SAY THE AVERAGE OF 48 INVOLVED.
AND THEN WHAT, WHAT TYPE OF PRIVATE FUNDING DOES YOUR OFFICE RECEIVE? GRANTS THAT WE APPLY FOR FEDERAL GRANTS AND THEN, UH, FROM TIME TO TIME PEOPLE WILL GIVE US MONEY THAT SAY HERE'S A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
THEY CAN'T TELL US WHAT TO USE THE MONEY ON, BUT WE WRITE THAT UP AS A GRANT AND UM, YOU KNOW, USE THAT IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS BUYING SOFTWARE AND YEAH.
LET THEM KNOW WHAT THEIR MONEY WENT TO.
AND, AND, AND WE, THOSE ARE, WE PUT THOSE TO USE A LOT AND IT'S FORTUNATE WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE, WILL GIVE US THAT TYPE OF MONEY ONCE A YEAR AND WITHOUT THAT WE WOULDN'T REALLY BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING.
IT'S PRIVATE BUSINESS WITH TECHNOLOGY, PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESS.
IT'S NOT A LOT, BUT IT'S NO, UNDERSTOOD.
AND SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, SO THE SOLUTION TO ALL OF THIS WOULD BE A PROPERTY TAX? IS THAT WHAT I HEAR? I MEAN, I WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE TO ASK PEOPLE FOR A TAX, I'D RATHER NOT ASK PEOPLE FOR ANY MONEY WHATSOEVER.
UH, I MEAN IT'S JUST, IT'S EXTREMELY DISTASTEFUL.
IT'S, IT IS, I HAVE TO PUT UP MONEY, I HAVE TO PAY THE COST OF AN ELECTION, WHICH IS PROBABLY GONNA BE 400,000.
I'M GONNA HAVE TO PAY FOR A CAMPAIGN, UH, LIKE YOU'RE RUNNING FOR OFFICE, WHICH IS PROBABLY GONNA BE 400,000.
I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PRICE IS NOW.
AND YOU WERE JUST COMING OFF OF, UH, YOU KNOW, BE COMING OFF OF MAYOR'S ELECTION IN THE CITY OF ST.
I DON'T REALLY WANNA BE IN THIS POSITION, BUT I FEEL THAT BASED ON WHERE WE'RE WITH OUR PEOPLE, WE HAVE TO, 'CAUSE I JUST DON'T SEE YOUR, YOUR ABILITY TO COME UP WITH 10 MILLION TO MAKE US COMPETITIVE WITH THE OTHERS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHILE I'M SAYING THAT THIS HAS, OUR POSITION HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER MY OPINION TO DO WITH ST.
GEORGE, UH, THAT WE WOULD BE HERE ASKING FOR THIS MONEY REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ST GEORGE WAS A NEW CITY OR NOT.
IT'S JUST BEEN GOING THAT WAY FOR YEARS.
AND IN FACT, WE HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS AND EVEN HELD THE FIRST MEETINGS THEY HAVE TAXES YEARS AGO, EVEN WHEN KIPP HOLDEN WAS THE MAYOR.
SO IT JUST WE'RE AT THAT POINT WHERE IT JUST KIND OF COINCIDES WITH OTHER THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, I APOLOGIZE TO THE PEOPLE, BUT I THINK THAT, THAT MY EMPLOYEES ARE THE PEOPLE'S EMPLOYEES AND I WOULD THINK THEY WOULD WANT THEM TO HAVE THE BEST OFFICE THEY CAN AND IT'S FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC.
AND I KNOW THAT, IN MY OPINION, THAT IS A GOVERNMENTAL OBLIGATION SOME, AND UNFORTUNATELY AT THIS POINT WE JUST CAN'T, APPARENTLY CAN'T DO IT.
SO THAT IS WHERE I AM AND UH, THAT'S WHAT MY PLAN IS AT THIS TIME.
UNLESS A LOT OF MONEY FALLS IN MY LAP REAL QUICKLY.
UH, I DO HAVE ONE WHICH I DOUBTED AND I APPRECIATE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TODAY AND EXPLAIN, UH, THIS SITUATION AND WE'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU GUYS HAVE.
THANK SIR, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU HAVE OTHERS THAT NEED MONEY.
YEAH, I, I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
UM, THERE IS A, AN ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION GOING AROUND ABOUT THE, THE PARISH PRISON.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE HAVE THIS STUDY GOING ON NOW.
I MEAN, IS THERE, IN YOUR MIND, IS THERE ANY APPETITE TO SHARE SOME OF THOSE ELECTION COSTS WITH THAT EFFORT OR I WOULD
THE JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER IS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE.
PUBLIC DEFENDERS IS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE.
[00:30:01]
IT UP IN ONE IF YOU COULD, BUT I THINK MAY, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S TOO LATE FOR THEM TO BE ON THE SAME DATE.I HATE TO HAVE MULTIPLE ELECTIONS, BUT I JUST HAD TO DO IT WHEN I DID IT AND MADE THE DECISION.
AND THAT'S A BIG, THAT'S GONNA BE A BIG NUMBER.
AND MY FEAR IS FOR US AND ALL OF US IN THE CITY IS THAT IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO RAISE THE MONEY FOR A PARISH PRISON OR JUVENILE DETENTION, THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S GONNA HA MAKE US HAVE A NEW ONE.
IT'S GONNA BE EIGHT TIMES THE COST, LIKE HAPPEN MAYBE IN ORLEANS.
THEY'RE WORKING HARD TO, UH, FIX THE PRISON IN JUVENILE DETENTION, BUT WE REALLY HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN AND IT'S GONNA TAKE US FIVE YEARS AT LEAST.
BUT, AND IT'S, THIS IS NOT NEW FOR YOU ALL.
IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED FOR MANY COUNCIL MEMBERS BEFORE YOU, SO IT JUST HAPPENS TO BE IN YOUR LAP RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, SO HAVE YOU ALREADY, UH, DONE THE, TAKEN THE STEPS NECESSARY WITH THE STATE TO PLACE, PLACE THE ITEM ON THE MAY BALLOT? SO WE HAD, WE HAD THE FIRST MEETING THAT WAS REQUIRED TO CALL IN NOVEMBER, POSTED ON THE DOORS.
THE NEXT MEETING IS, WILL BE POSTED ON THE DOORS FOR DECEMBER 18TH MEETING.
IT'S BASICALLY JUST TO ANNOUNCE THE RESOLUTION.
THEN IT GOES FOR THE, UH, COMMISSION AND THEY WILL APPROVE IT TO BE PUT ON THE MAY 3RD BALLOT.
AND SO WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE STEPS, UH, AS IF YOU'VE MAYBE RUN AN OPTION IN FOOTBALL THAT IF I SCORE A TOUCHDOWN SOMEWHERE ELSE, THEN I CAN ALWAYS PULL THE BALL BACK.
BUT I'M NOT SEEING IT RIGHT NOW.
I, I JUST, IN MY HEAD, I, I DON'T THINK THAT THE DISCUSSION AROUND THE PRISON HAS FORMED UP ENOUGH TO PUT A DOLLAR AMOUNT ON IT EVEN, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK THAT'S THE, THE TROUBLE ON OUR END, BUT UM, I JUST WANTED TO SEE WHERE IT WAS, SO THANK YOU.
I HOPE Y'ALL HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON.
ONE MORE COUNCILMAN, GO AHEAD.
ONE MORE THAT CAME TO MY HEAD AS WE WERE TALKING.
UH, WALK ME THROUGH THE PROCESS FOR YOUR STATE FUNDING, IF YOU WOULD, HOW IT'S ALLOCATED.
IS IT PART OF THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS? REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
UM, SO YOU WOULD THINK THAT AS THE POPULATION HAS CHANGED, THE STATE WOULD SAY, WELL, BATON ROUGE NEEDS MORE DAS TO KEEP UP AND ORLEANS NEEDS LESS.
SO WE AS DAS SIT AROUND AND SAY, HEY, MATTER REALLY NEEDS MORE, MORE DA'S, CAN YOU GIMME SOME OF YOURS? AND THAT'S NOT A REALLY EASY, UH, DISCUSSION TO HAVE WITH THE ORLEANS'S DA OR THE JEFFERSON DA.
LIKE, YOU HAVE 70, CAN YOU GIMME 20 OF YOURS? WELL, THE ANSWER IT COULD BE NO, IT'LL BE NO, I'M NOT GONNA DO THAT.
SO THERE'S A BOARD, A COMMISSION THAT'S CALLED BY THE GOVERNOR AND THE GOVERNOR'S CONSIDERING CALLING ONE NOW.
THAT WOULD INCREASE THE NUMBER OF WARRANTS AND MAKE IT MORE EVEN LIKE PARTICULARLY BATON ROUGE AND ACADIAN LAFAYETTE AREA.
THEY, WE ARE WAY UNDERSTAFFED COMPARED TO WHAT THEY ARE.
SO, BUT AGAIN, WHEN THEY CATCH US UP WITH A DA WARRANTS AND MAKE US EVEN, IT'S ONLY THAT BASE LEVEL.
IT'S NOT ALL THE OTHER STUFF THAT COMES WITH IT, NO.
UH, SALARY INCREASES IN THE FUTURE.
SO THEY HELP US, BUT NOW WE GOTTA MAKE UP THAT MUCH MORE MONEY.
UH, SO I EXPECT THE GOVERNOR'S GONNA INCREASE THE WARRANTS ONLY, BUT IT'S, UH, AGAIN, IT'S STILL GONNA BE 20% OF OUR BUDGET, SO I COULD REALLY INCREASE THAT MUCH.
SO IT WOULD, AND YOU WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT WOULD INCREASE YOUR STATE ALLOCATION.
BUT IT WAS ALSO INCREASE HOW MUCH MORE MONEY WE HAVE TO RAISE TO UNDERSTOOD.
IS THAT, THAT THOSE STATE DOLLARS THROUGH DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OR THEY THROUGH THE JUST THE BUDGET.
AND THEN THEY'RE ALLOCATED AMONGST 64 PARISHES OR THERE'S PROBABLY HOW MANY DAS? YEAH, THERE'S IS THERE 64? EXACTLY.
AND UH, AND HAS THAT AMOUNT INCREASED OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS? WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN BATON ROUGE JUST 'CAUSE PEOPLE HAVE RECOGNIZED HOW.
WE BOTH, WE WERE ON THAT AND WE HAVE HAD I THINK AN ADDITIONAL FIVE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
SOME UH, WE'LL SAY I DEFER TO YOU, I'M NOT TAKING ANY OKAY.
AND THEY HAVE DONE THAT FOR BATON ROUGE.
APPRECIATE THAT SECOND OPPORTUNITY.
ALRIGHT, SO NOW WE'LL ASK OUR, UH, CHIEF OF POLICE AND HIS TEAM TO COME ON DOWN.
UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH COUNCILWOMAN.
I, UH, DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AS FANCY AS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, UH, NOTIFIED OF THIS LATE WEDNESDAY THAT Y'ALL WOULD LIKE ME TO BE HERE.
SO I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO REALLY PREPARE ANYTHING.
I DON'T THINK THAT I'M GONNA TELL Y'ALL, UM, ANYTHING THAT Y'ALL DON'T ALREADY KNOW.
UM, THAT OUR UM, 2024, UH, BUDGET WAS $107 MILLION.
OUR 2025 BUDGET IS, UM, $98.3 MILLION.
SO A DECREASE IN 8.7 MILLION OR ABOUT 8.15%.
UM, MY CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MAYOR, UM, AND HEARS STAFF AND FINANCE AND EVEN SOME OF Y'ALL I KNOW THAT Y'ALL VALUE IS THE MAYOR SPECIFICALLY VALUES PUBLIC SAFETY AND IS, UM, WORKING WITH US AS BEST THEY CAN.
[00:35:01]
HAVE THAT $8.7 MILLION SHOWING DECREASE IN OUR BUDGET, UM, THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND OTHER WAYS TO GET US SOME MORE MONEY THROUGH CAPITAL OUTLAYS OR UM, UM, OTHER WAYS TO TRY TO MAKE UP SOME OF THAT MONEY FOR US.UM, 90% OF THE POLICE BUDGET IS PERSONNEL COSTS AND, UM, SALARIES, OVERTIME AND BENEFITS.
UM, SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT MAKING UP THAT MONEY, UM, A LOT OF IT'S GONNA HAVE TO DO WITH BEING SMART ON OUR OVERTIME.
UM, AND UH, SOMEWHAT RE RE-LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR CURRENT CONTRACTS AND WHAT THE SERVICES THAT WE KIND OF PROVIDE FOR THE CITIZENS OF BATON ROUGE AND BEING SMART AND UM, USING SOME OF OUR TECHNOLOGY AS FORCE MULTIPLIERS, UM, INSTEAD OF UM, BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND SOME OF THE ASPECTS.
ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE FOR ME, I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER.
ANYONE WITH ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCILMAN HUDSON? CHIEF MORSEL, I KNOW IN THE YEARS PAST THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND OVERTIME COSTS.
UM, ARE Y'ALL STILL EXPLORING A NEW OVERTIME POLICY OR WHAT DO WE LOOK AT TO TO TRY AND PAR DOWN SOME OF THOSE COSTS? YEAH, SO IT'S A TRICKY THING.
UM, SO OVERTIME ENCOMPASSES EVERYTHING FROM A MANPOWER OVERTIME.
UM, IT'S NOT A SECRET THAT WE'RE SHORT OF OFFICERS, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR FIRST DISTRICT EVENING, UM, EVENING SHIFT, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OFFICERS CALL IN SICK.
WELL WE NEED A CERTAIN NUMBER OF OFFICERS TO WORK THE STREETS SO THAT WE CALL IN MANPOWER TO WORK AND WE HAVE TO PAY THOSE OVER OFFICERS OVERTIME.
SO THAT'S A SMALL PORTION OF IT.
A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THE OTHER PORTIONS.
UM, THE MUCH LARGER THING IS, UM, WE HAVE PARADE SEASON COMING UP, RIGHT? EVERY OFFICER THAT YOU SEE OUT THERE ON THE PARADE ROUTE IS BEING PAID OVERTIME FROM MY BUDGET.
UM, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE TAKE THAT FOR GRANTED FOR ALL THESE SPECIAL EVENTS AND IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT IN 2025 WHEN WE GET SPECIAL EVENT REQUESTS FOR, UM, EVERYTHING FROM BACK TO SCHOOL GIVEAWAYS UP TO ST.
UM, THAT COMING OUT OF, UM, MY NOW REDUCED BUDGET AND HOW CAN WE WORK WITH THOSE ORGANIZERS TO HELP, UM, OFFSET SOME OF THAT COST WHERE MAYBE IT'S NOT OVERTIME COMING OUT BUDGET, BUT THEY'RE PAYING EXTRA DUTY TO THOSE OFFICERS TO BE OUT THERE.
UM, I, I NOTICED IN YOUR CONTRACTUAL SERVICES IT LOOKS LIKE YOU REDUCED CONTRACTUAL SERVICES BY ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS.
CAN YOU TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT, WHAT CONTRACTS WERE ELIMINATED? SO ONE OF THE BIG ONES, I'M NOT SURE OF ALL OF THEM, UM, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
BUT, UM, ONE OF THE BIG ONES IS OUR SHOT SPOTTER CONTRACT.
SO IT'S JANUARY 1ST, WE'LL NOT HAVE SHOT SPOTTER PROGRAM ANYMORE.
THAT WAS GONNA BE ABOUT 400, 420 $5,000 FOR NEXT YEAR.
SO IT WAS A BIG TICKET ITEM THAT WE COULD GET RID OF.
SO WE ARE NOT GONNA HAVE, UM, IN LOOKING AT IT, UM, SINCE THE INCEPTION OF SHOT SPOTTER, WHICH WE'VE HAD IT, I DON'T KNOW.
UM, TWO OF THE SPOTS THAT WE ARE PAYING FOR SINCE THEN AREN'T EVEN INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.
UM, THEY WERE OUTSIDE IN THE PARISH AREA.
UM, AND SO THAT'S JUST A BIG TICKET ITEM THAT WE COULD GET RID OF OFF OF OUR BUDGET.
SO TALK ABOUT, SO ABOUT OTHER SMALLER THINGS IS WE'RE GETTING RID OF OUR MOUNTED PATROL DIVISION.
UM, SO THE UPKEEP IN COST OF HORSES, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THAT ANYMORE.
UM, WE HAD IMPLEMENTED, UH, TELEPHONE REPORTING SOFTWARE, UM, THAT WAS LIKE A QR CODE GO TO A DISTRICT AND LOOKED AT A THING DURING COVID.
UM, WE ARE GETTING RID OF THAT SOFTWARE.
WE STILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE ONLINE REPORTS AND CALL IN REPORTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE'RE NOT GETTING RID OF THAT SIDE, BUT SOME OF THE OTHER TELEPHONE REPORTING THINGS, SO THE UNIT IS NOT GOING AWAY, BUT JUST THAT'S, THAT'S NO THE UNIT, THE WHOLE UNIT IS GOING AWAY EXCEPT FOR A PERSON THAT HAS STILL BE, UM, APPROVING THE REPORTS THAT ARE MADE ONLINE.
WHICH WE GET ABOUT A HUNDRED OF THOSE A MONTH.
UM, MOSTLY IT'S UM, YOUR GAS STATIONS THAT ARE REPORTING BEER RUNS, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA TRY TO PUSH MORE OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND LET THEM KNOW HOW EASY IT IS.
IF THEY DON'T WANNA WAIT FOR A POLICE OFFICER TO RESPOND, UM, TAKE THE REPORT OF BIKE BEING STOLEN OUTTA THEIR FRONT YARD, IT'S VERY EASY TO GO ONLINE AND MAKE THAT POLICE REPORT AND IT STILL IS TREATED THE SAME AS IF AN OFFICER RESPONDED.
SO TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LOSING THE SHOT SPOTTER CONTRACT.
I KNOW WHEN WE APPROVED THE RENEWAL OF THAT CONTRACT, I, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT A YEAR AGO MAYBE OR SO MM-HMM
I THINK WE WERE STILL TOUTING SHOT SPOTTER AS A, AS A GREAT RESOURCE AT THAT POINT.
SO ARE WE DOING OURSELVES A DISSERVICE LOSING SHOT SPOTTER OR LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS? WE DO GET A LOT OF, UM, REPORTS FROM THE SHOT SPOTTER, BUT I THINK, UH, IT'S VERY FEW THAT, UM, WE DON'T ALSO GET IN A COMPANY IN NINE ONE ONE CALL CALL.
SO WE ARE GETTING THOSE SAME REPORTS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT, I THINK, UM, WE DIDN'T, WE COULDN'T FIND ANY DOCUMENTED CASES OF A SHOT SPOTTER LEADING TO US
[00:40:01]
FINDING THAT'S THE ONLY REPORT WE GOTTA FINDING A GUNSHOT VICTIM.UM, TO, TO SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE.
BECAUSE THEN IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE WE HAD ALL THESE, OH, WE'RE ABLE TO FIND THESE GUNSHOT VICTIMS ONLY BECAUSE OF SHOT SPOTTER, WE WOULDN'T EVEN BE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, IT WAS MORE FOR THE DATA COLLECTION, MORE FOR THE INVESTIGATION ON THE BACK END, UM, EXACTLY HOW MANY SHOTS WERE FIRED AND IT'S NOT OVER THE WHOLE CITY, WHICH IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK SEVEN SQUARE MILES.
UM, AND PART OF THOSE AREN'T EVEN INSIDE THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE, UH, IN THE, THE PARISH FOR THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S NOT COVERING THE WHOLE CITY AND IT, IT'S AN EASY IT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MAKE UP SOME MONEY.
UM, ONE LAST QUESTION ON SHOTS SHOT SPOTTER, I, I PROMISE THE TIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SHOT SPOTTER REPORT AND A 9 1 1 CALL.
HAVE, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT THAT AND HOW SLOW OR IS, I MEAN HOW SLOW OR WILL BE WILL BE RE RESPONDING? POSSIBLY? YEAH, SO A SHOT SPOTTER, I MEAN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT UNDER A MINUTE OF, I MEAN, BUT SOME OF THE THING GETS ACTIVATED, IT GETS SENT OFF TO A THIRD PARTY COMPANY FOR THEM TO LISTEN TO, THEN IT GETS SENT TO OUR DISPATCHERS.
SO THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF DELAY OF DELAY THERE.
UM, TO MAKE SURE IT'S NOT A CAR BACK FIRING OR FIREWORKS, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THERE IS THAT REVIEW ELEMENT BEFORE IT'S SENT TO OUR DISPATCHERS SO IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF A, A, A WASH THE SHOT SPOTTER IS PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT FASTER BECAUSE IT IS TECHNOLOGY THAN SOMEONE HITTING 9 1 1.
UM, BUT IT'S ABOUT WOODEN WOOD PROBABLY.
UM, SO IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE GONNA NEED TO CONSIDER OR POTENTIALLY CONSIDER, UM, CHARGING FEES FOR EVENTS FOR, FOR POLICE OFFICERS, FOR EVENTS.
ARE WE, DO YOU KNOW, DO WE HAPPEN TO KNOW IF ORLEANS AND LIKE LAFAYETTE PARISH, ARE THERE OTHER, ARE THERE OTHER POLICE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE DOING THIS IN THE, THE, THE STATE THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT TALK TO? YEAH, HUNDRED PERCENT HOW IT WORKS.
SO, UM, NEW ORLEANS OF COURSE IS THE MECCA FOR MARDI GRAS.
ALL OF THEIR PARADES PAY EXTRA DUTY TO THE OFFICERS.
SO THERE, THERE'S A MODEL OUT THERE.
WE CAN KIND OF GET SOME, SOME PRICING ABOUT WHAT'S STANDARD.
AND EXTRA DUTY OF COURSE IS NOT A, UM, UNCOMMON THING FOR US.
WE RUN THAT ALL OVER THE CITY.
UM, EVERYTHING FROM CHURCHES TO SCHOOLS TO, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS GROCERY STORES.
YOU KNOW, YOU SEE OUR OFFICERS OUT THERE WORKING THE EXTRA DUTY.
ALSO, UH, RECENTLY I WAS AT A CONFERENCE AND, AND HEARD SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, UM, MUNICIPALITIES THAT ARE ACTUALLY STARTING TO HIRE NON-POLICE OFFICERS TO DO SOME OF THE FUNCTIONS THAT HAVE TYPICALLY BEEN DONE BY POLICE OFFICERS BUT MAY NOT REQUIRE ALL THE TRAINING THAT POLICE OFFICERS HAVE, YOU KNOW, WRITING PARKING TICKETS.
UM, I WAS EVEN TOLD THAT THEY HAVE UM, YOU KNOW, WRECKS THAT DON'T HAVE ANY INJURIES.
THEY, THEY'RE SENDING, YOU KNOW, THESE EMPLOYEES TO GO WRITE UP THOSE, THOSE WRECKS.
HAVE WE CONSIDERED DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT HERE? YES MA'AM.
WE HAVE, I ACTUALLY INTERVIEWED TWO THOSE TYPE OF COMPANIES, UM, CAME AND SAT DOWN AND GAVE ME SALES PITCH AND UM, THEIR BUSINESS PREMISES.
IT'S A NON-POLICE OFFICER THAT WOULD RESPOND TO A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT AS LONG AS THAT TRAFFIC ACCIDENT DOES HAVE MAJOR INJURIES.
UM, ALL THAT THERE WASN'T ANY SUSPICION OF DWI, THAT SORT OF THING.
IF THEY GET THERE AND IT'S THAT THEN THEY WOULD CALL US.
UM, THE PROBLEM WITH BOTH THOSE COMPANIES IS THAT IT IS FAR MORE EXPENSIVE THAN IF I JUST, UM, SAY I PUT SOME OFFICERS JUST ON STRAIGHT OVERTIME AND THAT WAS THEIR ONLY JOB WAS TO WORK WRECKS.
UM, THE AMOUNT THAT THEY WERE WANTING TO CHARGE PER WRECK THAT THEY WOULD HANDLE, UM, WAS WAY COST PROHIBITIVE.
IT, I UNDERSTAND THAT COMPLETELY.
DO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO HIRE THOSE KIND OF EMPLOYEES OURSELVES AND NOT CONTRACT IT OUT? OR IS THAT JUST MORE THAN WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME THINGS LIKE THAT? RIGHT NOW WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, HIRING PART-TIME OFFICERS, UM, FOR 29 HOURS A WEEK, NO BENEFITS, THAT KIND OF THING.
THERE'S RECENT REGULATIONS, STATE LAW CHANGES THAT MAKE IT EASIER WHERE THOSE OFFICE, WHAT PROHIBITED THEM FROM BEFORE WAS THAT THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR RETIREMENT IF THEY WANTED TO COME BACK AND WORK FOR US.
BUT JUST THIS YEAR STATE LAW CHANGED WHEN IT CAME TO THEIR RETIREMENT BENEFITS.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME THINGS TO BE ABLE TO SUPPLEMENT OUR MANPOWER SHORTAGE BY HIRING SOME RETIRED OFFICERS TO DO SOME OF THOSE JOBS.
NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT THEY WOULD BE DOING, UM, HELPING OUT WITH SOME COLD CASES IN OUR REAL TIME CRIME CENTER, MAYBE EVEN UP TO RESPONDENT TO TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS, BUT I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT WE WOULD DO WITH THEM YET.
UM, AND THEN, UH, AND I KNOW, I KNOW WE WERE TOLD THIS AT THE, THE ORIGINAL, YOU KNOW, BUDGET PRESENTATION, BUT JUST FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WATCHING, ARE THERE, ARE THERE ACADEMIES FUNDED IN THIS BUDGET FOR THE 2025 YEAR? YES MA'AM.
WE HAVE, UM, TWO ACADEMIES THAT ARE FUNDED FOR NE UM, FOR THIS COMING YEAR, ONE THAT WILL BE STARTED IN JANUARY.
UM, AND THEN ANOTHER ONE THAT WOULD BE TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND HOW MANY, HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL YOU BE ABLE TO TAKE INTO THOSE ACADEMIES? SO, UM, WHAT WAS IN THE BUDGET WAS TO FUND 35 NEW OFFICERS.
THE ACADEMY THAT IS STARTING IN JANUARY, WE, UM, WE'RE ONLY STARTING IT WITH 13 OFFICERS.
THAT'S ALL THAT, UM, I CHOSE AFTER INTERVIEWS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM,
[00:45:01]
OF THAT, OF THE APPLICANT POOL.AND SO THEORETICALLY AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, IF WE WANTED TO DO ANOTHER ACADEMY, WE COULD ACCEPT ANOTHER 25 OR SO, BUT MAYBE EVEN MORE BECAUSE WE WERE BUDGETED TO HAVE MORE THAN THAT AT THE START OF THE YEAR.
SO WE JUST HAVE TO LOOK AT THE NUMBERS WHEN WE'RE READY TO START THAT NEXT ACADEMY.
THE, UM, PERSONNEL ALLOTMENT SUMMARY IN THE BUDGET GOT YOU AT 8 89 TOTAL 889 POSITIONS THAT'S NOT ALL FILLED.
5 0 2 IS YOUR NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS.
DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW THE NUMBER OF CURRENT POLICE OFFICERS? UM, SO I THINK WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT MAYBE IS JUST THE RANK OF OFFICER, UM, BECAUSE WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UM, CLOSE TO 560 SWORN POLICE OFFICERS AND THAT'S OFFICER SERGEANT, LIEUTENANT CAPTAIN, RIGHT.
DEPUTY CHIEF BY POSITION, BY POSITION THE POSITION OF POLICE OFFICERS LISTED AT 5 0 2.
YEAH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT NUMBER IS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
UM, PROBABLY 50 OR 60 LOWER THAN WHAT THAT SAYS.
JUST THINKING ABOUT WHAT MY COMPLIMENT IS BECAUSE THE CURRENT COMPLIMENT, UM, WOULD BE 610 OR FOR NEXT YEAR WOULD BE SIX 10 WITH THE 2 50 50 DUE FROZEN POSITIONS.
THE NUMBERS YOU'RE SAYING INCLUDE CAPTAIN OF LIEUTENANT SERGEANTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SORRY, WHAT'S THAT? I APOLOGIZE.
THE, THE NUMBER, YOU'RE, THE NUMBER YOU'RE TALKING THROUGH INCLUDES CAPTAINS, LIEUTENANT SERGEANTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE PUTTING ALL THOSE INTO THE SAME YEAH, IT CAN YOU TELL ME JUST OFFICERS, WHICH ON THE COMPLIMENT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, 356 OF JUST POLICE OFFICERS IS 3 5 6 IS WHAT'S FILLED OF NOVEMBER 1ST.
YOU'VE GOT ONE 16 ON SERGEANTS, THAT'S THE ALLOTMENT.
YEAH, I DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE, I CAN PULL IT UP THE ALLOT MY LAST NOVEMBER COMPLIMENT.
WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS I WOULD'VE GOT? YEAH, SO THIS WAS EFFECT, THIS WAS AS OF, UM, NOVEMBER 1ST.
114 SERGEANTS, 56 LIEUTENANTS, 17 CAPTAINS, FIVE DEPUTY CHIEFS, AND MYSELF FOR A TOTAL OF 548.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING THAT AT THE READY
ALL RIGHT, CHIEF, CHIEF, AND I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY I LIKE THE IDEA OF THE RETIRED OFFICERS THAT YOU ARE REACHING TO GET TO FEEL AS OPPOSED TO JUST JOE BLOW OFF THE STREET TO, TO COMING AND HELP OUT IN THE STREET.
NO ONE ELSE WITH ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANTED TO OFFER ONE POINT OF CLARIFICATION, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW ON IN THE BUDGET BOOK IT DOES UH, IDENTIFY AN 8% REDUCTION FOR THE BAT BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
HOWEVER, IN A SEPARATE PART OF THE BUDGET, WHICH I KNOW Y'ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH, WHERE WE DO ADD AT LEAST $1.2 MILLION BACK INTO THE BUDGET FOR EQUIPMENT SUPPLIES SOFTWARE, UH, UNDER THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN INTEREST EARNED ACCOUNT.
ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS ANOTHER $430,000 THAT Y'ALL ARE GONNA BE VOTING ON HOPEFULLY IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, UH, NEXT WEEK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN HELP SUPPLEMENT SOME OF THESE SPECIAL EVENTS, ESPECIALLY DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR.
WHILE WE ASSESS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE GOING FORWARD, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT THERE'S AT LEAST ANOTHER $1.6 MILLION THAT'S NOT REFLECTED IN THIS 8% REDUCTION TO GENERAL FUND.
IF NOTHING ELSE, CHIEF YOU FINISHED.
NO MORE QUESTIONS AND NO MORE ANSWERS.