Harlan Kirgan
Eliminating a top position in the police department is a major decision and it is one the Eunice Board of Aldermen took at their March 9 meeting.
The move probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise and there’s nothing subtle about a rift between Police Chief Randy Fontenot and the Board of Aldermen.
For example, earlier in the meeting, the Board decided unanimously to rescind approval given in July 2020 to lease-purchase seven new police vehicles.
Fontenot won approval to buy the vehicles in a plan that he said would save the city by buying two vehicles equipped for pursuit and the rest without pursuit packages. The idea is non-pursuit vehicles would be used for transportation other than patrolling.
What followed were months of delays by the Board. What happened at the March 9 meeting is an example of the delay that has occurred since July 2020.
Alderwoman Connie Thibodeaux, who introduced the motion to rescind the July vehicle-buying vote, said, “He was supposed to give us a list of vehicles ...” referring to the police chief providing a vehicle inventory.
Alderman Ernest Blanchard followed with, “Another reason you didn’t have the correct information on those vehicles is because even we thought they were paid for and they still had, what, two or three months left, Randy, on the budget.”
The police chief replied, “But the vehicle that we had gotten prices on you can’t even order them now. So, now we have to wait until the 2022s start production.”
Later, Thibodeaux brought up the list again. “So, you were supposed to get us a new list for the vehicles. I think last month, right?”
Mayor Scott Fontenot said the inventory list had been provided.
The mayor said fiscal consultant Steve Moosa would be asked to attend the next meeting “to get the ball rolling” on the equipment.
And, a special meeting might be called to address the issue, he said.
The police chief countered, “It doesn’t pay to do that until they come out with their new 2022s list and pricing. That’s going to be this summer at the earliest...”
Later in that meeting the decision was made to scrap the deputy police chief position over the protest of the police chief.
Board members cite a top-heavy department. Fontenot says the department doesn’t get a realistic budget that covers the entire year.
The relationship is one where the Board has the votes and the police chief has none. But the police chief has control of his department on day-to-day basis.
The surprising thing is the police chief won re-election in November 2018 with 78% of the vote. In December 2014, Fontenot won a runoff election with 59% of the vote. Those votes suggest the police chief has public support.
In May 2019, Eunice voters approved a 0.25% sales tax for police pay raises with 78% of the voters approving.
In April 2018, aldermen approved the lease-purchase of five new police pursuit vehicles.
Going back through the headlines the contentious nature of the relationship comes into focus.
In September, 2019, the Board voted to strip the police chief of his hiring and firing authority. The vote reversed its action in July 2016 that moved the hiring and firing authority from the Board to the police chief.
In July 2020, the Board decided to keep a police dog the police chief declared surplus. At the last inquiry, the city continues to pay for the dog’s upkeep. The dog’s handler has sued claiming his rights were violated.
Over the past couple of years, the police chief has made public his frustration over the city’s budget process that he says leaves him out of discussions. The city’s budget is formulated by the mayor who says it is his responsibility.
The latest issue, which coincided with the deputy chief decision, is the revelation that three police officers, two lieutenants and one sergeant, were paid more than $80,000 in 2020 in a department that is having a difficult time keeping its ranks filled with patrol officers, dispatchers and jailers.
A year ago, the police chief presented a plan to reduce the number of lieutenants from seven to three and create three new lower-paid supervisory positions. The lieutenant ranks would have been thinned by attrition under the plan. The Board didn’t buy the plan and the department continues to have seven lieutenants.
However, when the deputy chief job opened up with a retirement, the police chief proposed promoting a lieutenant to deputy chief and a sergeant to lieutenant.
Besides voting to end the deputy chief position, the Board members rejected promoting the sergeant to lieutenant. A hearing is to be held at the April city meeting on the deputy chief action.
There may be light at end of this tunnel. Mayor Fontenot said he and Police Chief Fontenot have had successful talks about the issues recently.