Sheriff Doing His Job in Central Is Suddenly an Issue

Two opponents of creating the City of St. George have alleged Sheriff Sid Gautreaux has a sweetheart deal with the City of Central that allows the citizens of Central to receive law enforcement free of charge.

The Baton Rouge Advocate featured the allegations in a lengthy front page story last Saturday.

Mary Jane Marcantel and Ben Taylor wrote a letter to a host of public officials — but not Central Mayor David Barrow — saying Central receives services not provided to other cities with their own police forces.

However, Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said there’s nothing unusual about what he is doing in Central. “The people of Central pay the same parishwide property tax as everyone else in the parish. We’re providing the same law enforcement services in Central that we did before incorporation. The creation of the City of Central has not changed anything from our standpoint. We receive the same tax, and we provide the same services as before,” he said.

The sheriff did say that he informed Central officials early on that if they want any addition services from his office, they would have to pay for those services. He said Central has requested additional services and pays the sheriff’s office for them, amounting to about $100,000 a year.

Central has its own police department, which it pays for. The Central Police Department has increased patrols in the City of Central and now works most traffic accidents in Central, releasing the Sheriff and State Police from that responsibility almost entirely. In that sense, the sheriff’s office is performing one job less than before incorporation.

The sheriff has parishwide law enforcement powers and can work cases in any part of the parish.

Twitter Digg Delicious Stumbleupon Technorati Facebook Email

Comments are closed.