- Following Monday night's Jeanerette City Council meeting the hiring committee, made to assist in the officer shortage, was 'dissolved' after mere months.
- After almost four months of lending marshal's deputies to police officers (also to assist in the shortage), one local barber shares why he thinks things are getting better.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
At the Jeanerette City Council meeting on Monday, April 8, chief of the city's police department Dusty Vallot, asked that the hiring committee for his department be ‘dissolved’ just months after being created. Chief Vallot was not available for comment.
"When the chief of police says he didn't want it, he didn't want it anymore or whatever," said Mayor Carol Bourgeois, "there was not a long discussion, motion was made, and they voted it down."
Mayor Bourgeois said that he agrees 'disbanding the hiring committee' was for the best. "The hiring committee, composition, and actually, specifically what its duties would be...None of that was drafted or put together.”
According to committee member and city councilman Ray Duplechien was more to it than that.
"Chief Vallot had made an announcement or—report that there had been no movement on the committee, and he requested that we dissolve the committee...We had one meeting where we were discussing the purpose of [the hiring committee], cause it seems we have an issue with the hiring of police officers as to—quick movement while we try to get some people in here."
Councilman Duplechien said the council "thought a committee would be a better idea." As of Tuesday, the hiring process returned to being single handedly taken care of by Mayor Bourgeois.
“During the meeting," Duplechien continued, "the mayor said he was taking total authority—he would not give up his authority to have the final say in it. He disagreed with the committee's authority to have final say in the hiring.”
"Currently," said the Mayor Bourgeois, "all hiring is vetted and done by the mayor of the community."
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In other Jeanerette policing news, the contract between the city and marshal, to lend deputies to officers due to the police shortage, has been extended to May.
'Magnificent Cuts' owner and barber Tavoris Marks feels the pact between deputies and officers is helping his community.
“By the marshal stepping in, with they presence, everything has been solid. Hopefully, this will impact for Jeanerette to grow even more, and have other officers want to come here to patrol, and help out this community.”
Tavoris says that being a barber runs in the family. “My dad was a barber for 40 years; 'Cliff’s Impressive Cuts’ in New Iberia.”
For more information about joining the jeanerette police force, click here.
