Deborah Carney
October 20, 2009
Mrs. Leontine (Tina) Harris
October 22, 2009If Lafourche Parish built a new detention center today, a 900-bed facility, which experts say is needed given the parish’s growing crime rate, could cost $54 million.
How to raise the $60,000-per-bed price tag remains unanswered, according to Alfred “Freddie” Delaune Jr., Five Star Committee finance subgroup chairman.
The Lafourche Parish Council organized the Five-Star Committee to find funding for the jail construction. They also hired National Institute of Corrections consultant Jim Rowenhurst to recommend the size of the new jail.
The committee received the consultant’s report at its Sept. 14 meeting. Rowenhurst projected that Lafourche’s inmate population will peak in 2030 at approximately 900 inmates.
Officials agree that a new facility is needed to replace the aging, overcrowded parish jail. Determining the cost of a new facility – and, as importantly, how to raise the money – is the committee’s next agenda item.
“The price per bed is steadily rising every year,” Dulaune said. “We need to move within the next four to five years before the price doubles.”
The Dec. 8 deadline is nearing for the committee to recommend to the council how the parish will pay for a 900-bed facility.
Armed with Rowenhurst’s report, the committee is considering three options: asking some of the taxing districts in Lafourche to redirect some of their monies into a jail construction fund, creating a jail millage and raising Lafourche’s sales tax.
“We are still in the fact-finding stage,” Delaune said.
According to the Lafourche Parish Assessor’s Office, Lafourche has 42 taxing districts. The Lafourche Parish Sales Tax Department said sales tax collections vary.
“With the property tax, we look to businesses and homeowners that own assets, Delaune said. “But with the sales tax we have to think about all those senior citizens and low-income families that spend money in stores. Higher taxes means more money coming out of their pockets.
“Asking the people to vote to raise the sales tax should be our last option,” he added.
The final decision is in the hands of the Lafourche Parish Council to make a recommendation for public vote. Delaune said worst case is a federal judge rules that Lafourche Parish will build a new jail no matter the cost.
“It’s happened before,” he said. “The judge will tell you what kind of facility you will build and how much you will spend on it. With the Five-Star Committee in place, Lafourche is trying to avoid that. We want to do what’s best for the parish, not have someone tell us what’s best.”
Needs assessment subgroup chairman Kris Gaudet pointed out that the ability to properly classify the inmates is also a key factor. The recommended 900 beds are feasible for Lafourche, he said.
“We don’t need the facility to be at full capacity,” he said “We still need to have room to grow. The statistics show that crime is steadily increasing, which means we need to put those criminals who deserve to be in jail, in jail.”
The Lafourche Parish Detention Center was built in 1976 to house 76 inmates. Today, the facility has been reconfigured to handle more than triple the load – 330 inmates.
This includes offenders arrested by the state police, Thibodaux Police, port commission, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries and authorities from other cities and towns in the parish, according to Sheriff Craig Webre.
“Maximum security inmates need to be housed away from minimum security inmates,” he said. “And then, you have the women. They all need to be separate from the men and classified among their groups as well. Trusties should be in their own section too. There’s a lot we can do if we have a jail big enough to do it in.”
Five-Star Committee Chairman Richard “Rick” Bouterie said the council could consider turning over control of the jail to Webre to alleviate some of the parish’s responsibility.
Currently, the parish government spends $1 million annually to feed, clothe and provide medical care for the inmates.
The sheriff’s office spends nearly $4 million annually to operate and staff the jail.
If Webre takes over, Bouterie said the parish will pay a $24.39 daily per diem, per inmate.
However, Delaune said the committee should research that option more.
The finance subgroup’s next meeting is Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in the Lafourche Parish Government building in Mathews. The next Five-Star Committee meeting is Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. in the same building.
