2026-10-21 - City Council Budget Hearings

Summary

Based on auto-generated captions; names, numbers and attributions may be misheard (councilmember names in particular are rendered inconsistently), and outcomes may be incomplete.

Time on topic (from transcript timestamps; approximate, includes side talk and public comment; counted from the call to order at 3:53 to adjournment at about 4:08:20):

Topic	Minutes	Share
Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office 2027 Budget	72	29%
Orleans Public Defenders 2027 Budget	65	27%
Criminal District Court 2027 Budget	43	18%
Orleans Parish District Attorney 2027 Budget	42	17%
Office of Public Safety Support 2027 Budget	15	6%
Transitions and setup between agencies	7	3%

Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Day 7 of the 2027 proposed budget hearings, opening at 9:30 a.m. and running about four hours with five criminal justice and public safety agencies heard in turn: Criminal District Court, the District Attorney, the Sheriff, Orleans Public Defenders and the Office of Public Safety Support.
The council's voting system was down for part of the day.
Every agency except the last asked the council to restore funding, and the recurring thread was the jail population (about 1,430 to 1,475 against a 1,250 ordinance cap) and its cost.
No votes were taken beyond a motion to adjourn, there was no closed session, and Day 8 was set for the next morning.

Criminal District Court 2027 Budget

4:05-47:24

The chief judge (captions say Lombard) thanked the council for not cutting the court again but said the proposed budget leaves a deficit of about $4.29 million ($4,289,978 as read out). The court used more than $3 million of cash on hand to cover last year's gap and has none left; it asked the council to restore last year's cut so it can operate normally. The three sections being eliminated (12 to 9) save about $1.1 million, which was already backed out of the request; the chair asked budget director DeLarge to confirm the figure.
Why the gap: the state no longer funds the court beyond June 30, 2027 (Supreme Court funding of roughly $4.2 to $4.5 million covers only the first half of the year), and the new consolidated Judicial Expense Fund (JEF) under the merged clerk's office has no surplus to send. The judges said the clerk's mandated 60 percent of net filing fees is barely enough for civil court, and the clerk's accounting meeting has not yet happened.
Programs the judges said are legally mandated and at risk: the jury commission (city funds $315,000 and the $450,000 from the Supreme Court ends), pretrial services, domestic violence monitoring, the sanity commission and indigent transcripts. They said the city's roughly $6.1 million would cover only about 60 percent of a $10 million-plus need and could make the court unable to operate in the second half of 2027.
The budget chair walked the line items: $460,000 in capital includes a $350,000 domestic violence build-out the court has long requested, and the chair suggested pausing it while keeping about $110,000 for building upkeep; the adult learning center line is a pass-through (about $323,150 in 2026, down from about $461,000). She asked for the court's minimum need, warning "you're not going to get $4 million," and the judges said they would reassess.
Councilmember Willard (captions render the name as "Williams") noted the adopted 2026 budget of $6.2 million against projected actuals near $9.9 million, confirmed the reserves are depleted and asked to be kept informed on the clerk talks.
Council President Morrell (rendered "Morel" and similar in captions) said the legislature's clerk consolidation did not require the Orleans clerk to fund criminal court, that the administration is talking with the legislature about fixing it, and that the clerk should use its operating surplus now. He noted the city remains responsible for the courthouse building (for example the jury room mold and roof) but not for programs and salaries.
A court witness clarified that the surplus sits with the clerk's office, not civil court itself, and that the JEF receives 60 percent of the clerk's net.

Orleans Parish District Attorney 2027 Budget

48:05-1:30:32

The District Attorney (called "DA Williams" later in the hearing) said the proposed 2027 allocation of $6.94 million is about a 56 percent cut from 2025 and would force elimination of whole divisions (homicide, special victims, diversion) and most investigators and victim advocates; he compared it with Jefferson Parish's local allocation of about $16 million in 2025 and $17 million in 2026, plus about $4.8 million from a criminal justice millage. He asked the council to "make us whole."
He credited council-funded specialty units for the drop in homicides and a conviction rate near 95 percent, said the office is already leaner, and warned of a tipping point as the court moves from 12 sections to 9.
Jail plan: bring the roughly 1,475 people in the jail to about 900 by moving cases faster. Elements: earlier assignment of a single public defender, faster screening and police reports, a docket dashboard tied to jail population, case-resolution days modeled on one court section's docket clean-up, targeted review of aging or costly cases, and prompt probation revocation hearings. He said a sustained reduction would save millions and bring the sheriff's consent decree to an end sooner (with close to $5 million returning to the city afterward).
Legislative fixes raised by him and by Council President Morrell: faster or virtual parole and revocation hearings, holds from other parishes and old warrant holds that cost Orleans Parish bed space.
Councilmember King said criminal justice belongs alongside trash pickup and streets as an essential service and promised to fight for as much funding as possible, though full restoration is unlikely. The budget chair asked the office to look for any cuts that can be made strategically.

Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office 2027 Budget

1:32:31-2:44:45

The Sheriff (captions: Woodfork) said the 2027 request is about meeting constitutional and consent judgment duties, mainly staffing the new Phase III medical facility, which is weeks from completion. The office needs at least 27 more deputies for Phase III (about $1.2 million, per Council President Morrell). Morrell and Councilmember Willard said that on a tour the day before, the federal judge overseeing the consent judgment stressed that staffing, which could become an order if not met.
Request: the budget chair cited about $17 million more; the Sheriff's team said roughly $27 million including the medical contract and about $10 million without it, and said most of the 12 percent proposed increase goes to the medical vendor, leaving a little over $600,000 for the general fund. The medical contract charges extra above a population of 1,200 (the council asked for the overage figure) and expires in June 2027, with an RFI and then an RFP planned. The roughly $2.9 million food contract is also headed to rebid.
Population: about 1,430 that morning against the 1,250 cap; 254 people are awaiting transfer or hearings for the Department of Corrections (122 awaiting transfer), for whom the state pays about $29 a day against a cost of about $160 (about $250 for special populations). Officials said full-capacity out-of-parish beds are being taken by higher-paying federal immigration holds. The Sheriff said the office needs to be near 1,000 to live within its budget and has hired a former corrections secretary as a consultant.
Other points: about 18 juveniles occupy a 60-bed pod and a January 1 move to the juvenile center is targeted; staffing is about 40 percent below optimum, with high attrition; monitor costs under the consent decree were $609,377 in 2025 and $539,941 through September 2026; reserves of about $8.23 million are mostly restricted (opioid settlement, capital and bank-commission funds); a $500,000 state grant is awaited for a sewer grinder; grants are down about $1 million; the office is considering a BRASS financial system, has posted its contracts on the city site and is working to sell unused property. A councilmember suggested involving the New Orleans Building Corporation. The temporary detention center belongs to FEMA, and taking it over as a shelter would shift repair liability to the city.
Public comment: one speaker supported the budget and raised juvenile justice concerns; a coalition convener urged a coordinated, system-wide jail reduction; a law professor noted the ordinance requiring OJC beds to be decommissioned when Phase III opens and urged support for public defender access to clients.

Orleans Public Defenders 2027 Budget

2:46:36-3:51:59

Chief Public Defender Danny Engelberg (spelling from captions) said the proposed cuts come on top of a 31 percent cut last year and more than $1 million in traffic camera revenue that was turned off, a total drop of more than 40 percent. The office has cut 27 contract attorneys and its bond attorney division, froze hiring (close to 40 vacancies) and began furloughs. In 2027, first-appearance representation would end. He said its reserves hit a break point by about February or March 2027, after an unexpected $300,000 health care cost.
Ask: the table showed a request of about $12.38 million including the pass-through to the Louisiana Center for Children's Rights, against roughly $7 million proposed; the office said about $11.44 million would let it commit, together with the District Attorney, to bringing the jail under 1,000, and an amount between the two would only let it "limp along." The budget chair asked for a realistic need rather than a want.
Meg Garvey estimated the jail costs about $261,660 a day (about $1.83 million a week) at 1,434 people and argued the city cannot afford not to fund public defense, since lawyers at every stage keep people out of jail. The mental health unit and client services described diversion and treatment work that avoids jail time.
Kristen Rome of the Louisiana Center for Children's Rights said it serves about 90 percent of arrested youth (500 last year, 387 so far this year), absorbed a 31 percent cut, and asked the council to hold its pass-through at $525,000; the city proposes an additional cut of about 8 percent. She said each city dollar leverages three more.
Councilmembers praised the office; one (captions render the name differently, likely Morrell) recalled that an earlier funding crisis nearly halted the court system, and said the council cannot make anyone whole but will try to make them more whole. Another member (captions: "Weller") asked about conflict counsel (about 20 percent of cases), vacancies, grants and reserves.
Public comment: a youth-program founder, an LCCR staff member, retired Judge Calvin Johnson (who said the jail can be safely brought under 1,000 by speeding the cases of people already sentenced, municipal offenders and probation and parole violators, and that low-risk people represented by public defenders return to jail about 6.5 percent of the time) and an advocate from Vera Louisiana and the Big Easy City Budget Coalition, who cited jail costs of roughly $43,000 to $91,000 per person per year.

Office of Public Safety Support 2027 Budget

3:53:02-4:08:08

Director Ross Bultwal (spelling from captions) presented the office, which runs the Real Time Crime Center, grounds patrol, IT for the crime center and the citywide radio shop (over 3,000 devices). The 2027 proposal is $3,366,948 in personnel (down $193,522) and $2.193 million in other operating (down about $2.17 million), for $5.559 million against $7.921 million in 2026, a cut of about $2.36 million. Non-general-fund spending falls from $638,391 to $466,906.
Cuts: nine general-fund grounds patrol positions (Lafitte Greenway, city cemeteries and Joe Brown Park, plus a supervisor), and an elimination of contract private security at City Hall, the VA campus, Juvenile Court and Armstrong Park, worth $1.8 million. The budget chair confirmed this means no screening at Juvenile Court's front door.
Efficiencies and adds: backhaul savings by placing cameras near existing service, an in-house IT specialist saving about $30,000 a year, a new video management platform and five additional public safety cameras per council district ($250,000). Councilmember Willard asked about the $900,000 annual camera data line and $125,000 for repairs; the director (with help from DeLarge on the personnel reconciliation, where a budget system showed a $624,000 cut for the nine positions) said the 9-year-old systems are reaching end of life and the dispatch consoles at the emergency communications center need replacing by 2030, ideally through grants spread over three years.
Drones: the director said the center has no role in NOPD's drone program, there has been only preliminary talk of hosting it at its facility, and that elsewhere drone-as-first-responder programs sit within real time crime centers. The budget chair said she does not want a drone program but it would make sense there if one exists.

Sources

Video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=RUDoVeLUcDU

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Transcript

These are auto-generated captions; names and numbers may be misheard.

Transcript

03:53Yes,

03:55>> All right, it is exactly 9:30 on October

03:5921 and our first stop, Ashley, is

04:01>> Criminal District Court.

04:05>> Come on down.

04:25>> Thank you.

04:31>> Can we switch?

04:39>> Good morning.

04:41>> Good morning.

04:42>> We don't have the uh

04:43signage.

04:45>> The signage? We don't need it.

04:47>> Got you.

05:19>> Whenever you're ready.

05:22>> Good morning. I am Chief Judge Wanika

05:24Marie Lombard. I am here with the chair

05:27of the Finance Committee, former Chief

05:29Judge Tracy Fleming Daverly, our

05:32accountant LaKenya Collins, and our

05:36Judicial Administrator Rob Casey, and

05:38our Deputy Judicial Administrator

05:40Shannon Sims.

05:42Good morning.

05:44Oh, I'm sorry.

05:47Okay.

05:48>> So, we are here to address

05:50>> [clears throat]

05:50>> the proposed budget that we have

05:52received.

05:53Let us start by saying we realize you

05:55did not cut us this year. Our budget for

05:58this year is our budget for last year,

06:00and we would like to thank you

06:02for that. However, we feel that it we

06:05must make you aware of a couple of

06:08things. Under the current proposed

06:10budget, we will end up being

06:15having approximately a

06:184.

06:20289 million-dollar deficit.

06:23And the reason for that is partially

06:25because last year you

06:28when the city had to do the 30% budget

06:30cuts, you cut our budget. We last year

06:34had almost a 3 million-dollar deficit.

06:37At that time, we were blessed to have

06:39some funds on hand or resources to use

06:44to continue with the

06:47However, those funds are completely

06:50depleted. In addition, due to the change

06:54in the law, the state of Louisiana has

06:57cut our budget. They are only funding us

07:00through July 30th, I mean June 30th of

07:03this year. So, the combination of that

07:06cut and the deficit from last year

07:08leaves us at the

07:114. 289

07:14978 to be exact, deficit.

07:18Um so, we are here asking the city, even

07:21though you have not cut our budget, we

07:23are here asking you to uh

07:26restore the funding that was cut from

07:29last year in order for us to continue

07:32with the normal court operations. This

07:35budget, and to be clear, the cuts, cuz I

07:37know somebody is going to ask, the cuts

07:39from the projected savings or reduction

07:43from the three seats that have been cut

07:46were calculated in before we sent this

07:48number. So, this

07:50we've already removed out any

07:53cost or savings from the employees of

07:56those sections and the operations of

07:58those sections. This is the money that

08:00we need to run criminal court as we ran

08:03it last year.

08:06Do you Do you like to say something?

08:08>> Um, yeah, just take any questions you

08:10>> Oh, I'm sorry. I do have one more.

08:13Let me read.

08:15Oh, we are working with the consolidated

08:17JEF. In fact, I am on I don't see that.

08:21Oh. All right. In fact, I am a part of

08:23the consolidated JEF committee and we

08:26have been asked about monies from other

08:30outside resources. To be clear, we are

08:33pursuing any outside resources that we

08:36may be finding. The current JEF

08:39committee consists of from criminal

08:41district court and consists of myself,

08:44the deputy chief, uh,

08:46Kim Yah Holmes, and Judge Camille Buras,

08:49who is our

08:51longest tenured judge and she is

08:54actually the co-chair of the the joint

08:57JEF committee along with Judge Reese.

09:00But, at this time, we are not seeing any

09:04monies coming from the joint JEF

09:06committee. We have established a joint

09:08checking account, but there's just no

09:10surplus coming from the clerk's office

09:13into the joint JEF committee to help

09:15fund criminal court at this time.

09:19You want to talk about the the the

09:21impacts? I'm going to let Judge Davila

09:23talk about some of the impacts

09:25that will be affecting our court if we

09:29do not get the, uh,

09:32the total funding that we need.

09:34>> Judge Lombard, could Can explain the

09:35JEF?

09:37>> Okay, so under the new law,

09:39they combined the clerk's offices as you

09:42are all aware, and then they made a

09:45joint JEF executive committee that is

09:49What is JEF?

09:51>> I'm sorry, judicial expense fund.

09:53>> Okay.

09:53>> So they created this committee. So each

09:55court had its own judicial expense fund

09:57and they had their own funding. The

10:00clerk's office funded civil court and

10:02criminal court, as you know, was funded

10:04partially by the city, partially by the

10:07state, and partially by outside grants.

10:09So when they created this

10:13combined clerk's office, they created a

10:16joint judicial expense fund committee

10:18that is assigned to

10:21administer and manage the funds of both

10:25courts. The

10:27problem is after they created that

10:30office, they ruled that they would

10:33continue or that the Supreme Court

10:34determined they would continue to fund

10:36us for a year, which ends in July June

10:39of next year, until that [clears throat]

10:41committee was up and running and could

10:43fund us. The issue is what we're seeing

10:46at this moment, and we don't have all

10:48the information from the clerk's office.

10:50We have attempted to get with the clerk.

10:52The meeting got rescheduled.

10:54We're hoping to have that meeting soon,

10:56but from what we're seeing right now

10:58from the monies that the clerk's office

11:00was putting into the civil JEF, that

11:03money was just barely enough to fund and

11:06keep civil court running. So there's no

11:08way that that money, if that a same

11:11amount goes in and continues to go in,

11:14would be able to fund and run both

11:17courts. Civil court often finishes,

11:19according to their accountant, at a

11:21deficit or with a surplus of maybe at

11:24best a couple hundred thousand. So

11:26there's no way that that extra couple

11:28hundred thousand could then fund the 4.2

11:32million dollar deficit that we are

11:34seeing and that we will be seeing in

11:36criminal court.

11:38>> But, um, all right, thank you. Thank

11:40you.

11:40>> All right. Well, this that brings up a

11:43an interesting conversation. So,

11:45so the Supreme Court is going to fund

11:47you through June 30th, 2027

11:50until this JEF gets up and running. Is

11:53that correct?

11:54>> Well, the JEF is up and running. It just

11:57has no money in it.

11:58>> So, does the [clears throat] Supreme

11:59Court know that this JEF has no money?

12:02>> Yeah. Yes, but remember part of the

12:04reason for cutting seats in criminal

12:06court and for passing this law was

12:08because the state said they were tired

12:10of funding

12:11criminal court. So, they agreed this

12:14year because there was absolutely no way

12:16>> [clears throat]

12:17>> um that we could be ready by August 1st.

12:20So, they're they're aware of the issue,

12:22but in fact, they have two appointees on

12:25the

12:26the joint JEF committee. So, there are

12:28two appointees by the Supreme Court on

12:30that committee. But, as I am

12:32understanding, and I can let Judge

12:34Davalie talk more about that cuz she's

12:36on the state's budgetary committee,

12:38there is no provision that I'm seeing

12:40for them to fund us past June 30th.

12:44>> Who's res- Who has the authority to

12:47increase like the filing fees and stuff

12:50at civil court?

12:52>> The clerk.

12:53>> Okay.

12:54>> All right. So, my part is to talk about,

12:56um, the the impact on criminal district

12:59court. So, just to take you all back

13:01several, um, years is that criminal

13:03district court has endured severe cuts

13:06over the past decade,

13:08um, with past administrations,

13:11um, in with respect to the budget. So,

13:14criminal district court is already sort

13:15of streamlined

13:17the the way that we operate in terms of

13:19the employees that are employed by

13:21criminal district court, in terms of the

13:23services that are or provided by the

13:26court, in terms of salaries. We vacated

13:28a number of different positions in order

13:30to try to save money so that we could

13:32operate. But in many past

13:35administrations, [clears throat] the

13:36court has been forced to reduce

13:41its cash on hand by using cash on hand

13:44in order to supplement the reductions in

13:47the already existing [clears throat]

13:49deficits for criminal district court. At

13:51the time prior to this year, criminal

13:54court was previously funded through

13:56various sources which included first the

13:58state legislature, which would then

14:00funnel money to the Supreme Court, then

14:02also through the city council, through

14:04these budget hearings in the mayor's

14:05office, and then also with various

14:07grants. Well, initially a few years ago

14:10the grants, many of the grants expired

14:13or were terminated

14:15based on the current administration and

14:17its priorities in terms of funding

14:19programs. So those grants,

14:23those programs that were grant funded

14:25were then absorbed by criminal court in

14:27its operations, personnel, and

14:29operations funding. And then then we see

14:33the cuts that we saw with the city over

14:36various administrations, and then now we

14:38have the cuts through the state

14:40legislature. So we've endured cuts from

14:42all of our funding sources over years

14:45and years. What that means is that last

14:48year the budget that we sought,

14:51overall we had a more than $3 million

14:55deficit. We used cash on hand as Judge

14:58Lombard said to cover that a more than

15:00$3 million deficit. So we

15:01[clears throat] have absolutely no

15:03funds, no cash on hand to cover the $4.2

15:06million deficit that we're currently

15:07facing. What that means is that

15:10statutorily mandated

15:13items that the court is required to

15:16adhere to from a constitutional purpose,

15:19that we you not be able to adhere to

15:21those requirements. That means more

15:23lawsuits. That means overcrowding in the

15:26jails, which will then cost the city an

15:29extreme amount of money to house people

15:32in custody and then also to transport

15:35people to other facilities.

15:37We've looked at potential furloughs, but

15:39because the salaries of our staff,

15:44they're already below average, which

15:47causes us issues with retaining good

15:49qualified people. Furlough furlough even

15:52a day or two will not assist us in any

15:56real cost savings. And so we're looking

15:59at potential impacts

16:01to our budget in terms of our jury

16:03commission. And as you know,

16:04[clears throat] our jury commission,

16:05that's the department in criminal

16:07district court that oversees all of our

16:09jury trials, that summons potential

16:11jurors for voir dire. They summon

16:14potential jurors for all of our jury

16:15trials as well as for grand juries and

16:18for special grand juries. And so this is

16:20an a department that's ongoing. It's

16:22already staffed at the lowest amount of

16:25staff members that we can withstand.

16:28Trials are mandated by the Constitution

16:31and so any impingement upon that would

16:34subject the court and the city and maybe

16:37even the state to potential legal

16:39liability. We look at pre-trial services

16:42program that was mandated by the city of

16:44New Orleans in 2015 that actually

16:48started in 2017.

16:50Pre-trial services runs what we call a

16:52criminal history.

16:54They monitor defendants who are on bond

16:58for safe release. They monitor

17:00defendants who are on electronic

17:01monitoring. They also monitor defendants

17:04that have guns and weapons charges. And

17:08so they are statutorily mandated because

17:11of new statutes as well as the existing

17:14statutes that look at conditions for

17:16release. There is now a new statute that

17:19requires each court or law enforcement

17:22to run a background check to see if

17:24someone has any existing or pending

17:27cases

17:28that might affect their bonds.

17:30We also have domestic violence, stalking

17:33and

17:35sex-related offenses.

17:37There is a statutory mandate that those

17:40offenders be monitored through some type

17:42of domestic

17:44court monitoring program. And so again,

17:47not offering that particular program

17:50which is statutorily mandated, would

17:52cause us or subject us to again more

17:54legal liability.

17:56The sanity commission is also required

17:59through the code of criminal procedure

18:01wherein doctors are appointed, as you

18:04all know, to determine the mental

18:06competency and or sanity and our

18:09dangerousness of a person in criminal

18:11district court. Again, that's mandated

18:13by state law. If we do not provide at

18:16least two psychiatrists or at least one

18:18psychiatrist and a psychologist to

18:22conduct the evaluations

18:24and then provide testimony and reports

18:27to the court, that again is another area

18:30where the court and the city would be

18:32exposed to legal liability.

18:35We are required to provide indigent

18:37transcripts to those people who are

18:39deemed indigent. And as you all know,

18:41probably over 75% of the people who are

18:45court involved or indigent.

18:48Court costs.

18:50Orleans Parish is the only court parish

18:53that has been sued and there is a

18:55federal consent judgment that requires

18:59our court only

19:01to conduct

19:03basically a financial assessment of

19:06someone to determine whether or not they

19:09are able to pay court costs, fines or

19:11fees. If they're deemed indigent, then

19:14we have to waive those court costs,

19:15fines, and fees. So, our court is not

19:18allowed to collect court costs, fines,

19:20and fees from those who are indigent,

19:21even though previously that involved

19:24allowing people to pay on a monthly

19:26basis. All other courts, including

19:28federal court and all other state

19:30courts, currently still collect court

19:32costs, fines, and fees. And so, um

19:36we've exhausted all avenues over the

19:39past decade in terms of court, you know,

19:42reductions in the budget, in terms of

19:44reductions in grants, and the funding

19:47that we've received. And at this point,

19:49um operating with a $6.1 million budget

19:53versus a $10

19:55million plus

19:56million dollar budget would put us in a

19:58huge deficit, where we would only be

20:00recouping about 60% of our budget. That

20:03would render our court inoperable

20:04basically for 2027, or at least the

20:07second half of 2027.

20:09>> Second half.

20:13>> Thank you.

20:14>> And I just briefly want to go through

20:16the goals of the court for next year.

20:21Or maybe not.

20:28>> It's

20:29That should be on the presentation.

20:31>> be on the presentation.

20:33>> for the criminal district court.

20:35>> Okay, good for you.

20:40>> All right.

20:42>> Back.

20:48>> All right.

20:50So, obviously the goal is well, primary

20:53goal is operational continuity. We want

20:55to continue what we are doing today. We

20:58want to make sure that the the city of

21:01New Orleans' access to justice remains

21:04uh Um,

21:05as prescribed by the code, and that we

21:08can continue to provide the level of

21:10service we have been doing. As we have

21:12just stated, it does not seem like we

21:14would be able to do that on the current

21:16proposed budget. Our next goal is fiscal

21:19stability, which again

21:22under the current circumstances will not

21:25be attainable.

21:27Obviously, we still have our commitments

21:29[laughter] of public safety and

21:30community confidence. We are going to do

21:33the best we can with what we have to

21:35maintain that, but we just don't see how

21:38we do that by the end of 20 the the

21:40second half of 2027.

21:43We do want to maintain our sustained

21:45interagency co-a- collaboration, which

21:47includes collaborating with the city,

21:49the partners, the lead program, the

21:52sheriff's office, and all of our

21:54community partners that are providing

21:57services to the defendants and the

21:59victims, the Family Justice Center, and

22:01all of our partners that provide

22:03services to our court. That we plan to

22:07continue as long as we can operate

22:11normally. And then the last thing is

22:13sustained data integrity and information

22:15sharing. As you know, we got a new

22:17computer system at the end of last year,

22:20and we have been maintaining our records

22:22through that system, and we want to

22:24continue to maintain our data integrity

22:27and information sharing. We are trying

22:29to be as transparent as we can with the

22:32general public.

22:36>> Okay, I have some questions and I know

22:38uh Council member McCaren also has her

22:40button pushed. Um

22:43So, I get what you're saying. You um

22:45expended about 3 and 1/2 million dollars

22:48in cash on hand to fill the gap last

22:50year, and you're saying there is no cash

22:53on hand this year.

22:53>> Right.

22:54>> Okay.

22:55For the three sections that were

22:57eliminated, do you have a total cost

22:59savings for those three sections, or

23:01Brandy, can you calculate that?

23:03>> about a million, 1.1 million, but that's

23:06not in this I mean, we took that out

23:08before we gave you the cost.

23:09>> So, you backed that out of the budget

23:10and you're using that that cost savings

23:12to do what with? Have you identified the

23:14programs that you're going to

23:16you're going to fund with that 1.1

23:17million like the sanity, the domestic

23:19violence?

23:20>> We don't have it. The 1.1 million came

23:23out and left us still with the 4.2

23:26million dollar deficit.

23:27>> So, the deficit would have been higher

23:29if you stand alone.

23:30>> Yeah, yeah, I got it. All right, I'm

23:32looking at just some high ticket items

23:34that you have in your budget and I just

23:35want to go over them quickly.

23:38Um, capital expenditures at 460, what is

23:41that Rodina?

23:42>> That's the build out. That's building.

23:46>> Um, that includes the domestic build out

23:48and those are funds that we wanted to we

23:51are requesting again. It was 350,000

23:55that we had initially in there and we

23:56just never have been funded for that and

23:59so we would put it in our request again.

24:01>> So, that's that's a request. It's not

24:02anything that you're like in the middle

24:04of.

24:04>> Correct. That's correct.

24:06>> Um, we talked about [snorts] technology

24:08196. That's just for ongoing technology.

24:11>> Yes.

24:12>> new technology.

24:13>> Correct.

24:14>> Uh,

24:15ended in transcripts I get law books and

24:17legal subscriptions. That's your

24:19Westlaw.

24:20>> Mhm. Yes.

24:20>> Yeah, you you need to have that.

24:23Um, professional and contractual

24:24services 387,500.

24:29>> Um, that includes the

24:32the CPA services that are being provided

24:34and also includes

24:36um, attorney fees that we're paying for

24:38ongoing cases that we have.

24:41>> For ongoing litigation.

24:43>> Exactly.

24:45>> Uh, 40

24:45>> And the audit fees

24:47and the audit fees as well.

24:48>> Okay.

24:49>> Mhm.

24:49>> 43 for domestic violence.

24:54>> Yes, that includes us that's part partly

24:58includes the salaries for those

24:59individuals that work in that

25:01department. So, that's the salaries and

25:03benefits. So, that their pay is included

25:06there in that line item that's domestic

25:08violence. That's personnel and

25:10non-personnel expenditures.

25:12>> And that's the same for sanity?

25:14>> Sanity is contractual services. So,

25:17those are the

25:18the amount that's budgeted are the fees

25:20that we would pay the psychiatrists and

25:22those others that perform services. So,

25:24it's strictly professional services

25:26there.

25:27>> All right. So, if I'm if just looking at

25:29this one page, I know we've been trying

25:31to get the domestic violence area

25:35up and running for a minute. We

25:37theoretically could back out that 460

25:39for now.

25:41And pause on it.

25:42>> On the capital expenditures? Yes.

25:44>> Okay.

25:44>> And I'm not going to say all of it

25:46because we do need we do need some for

25:49maintenance of the building. So, we

25:50still had about 110,000 there for

25:53expenditures for the building.

25:55>> Okay. Can you can you send us something

25:57that separates that out?

25:58>> Yes. Uh-huh.

26:00So, the domestic violence

26:02portion is 350,000.

26:05>> Right.

26:09Um just looking at the

26:13I see the organization the second page

26:17with the adult learning center.

26:19The administration has basically zeroed

26:21all of this out, right?

26:23>> That's a pass-through.

26:24>> Okay.

26:25>> Um we only retain us probably

26:293% of those funds. It is

26:32we have a MOU with the outside agency to

26:35provide those services.

26:36>> And we did we did not zero those out.

26:37That total is not the same, but that's

26:40that's not zeroed out.

26:42For that I can get you the total that's

26:43in the budget.

26:44>> Okay.

26:46I'm just I'm looking at the budget

26:47block. I If there's a different number,

26:49please get it to us.

26:51Um

26:51>> Just just to remind you, council member

26:53here, that is for the youth empowerment

26:55project and for for jail guardo, that's

26:58the high set program where um, clients

27:01can get their uh, basically their GEDs.

27:04>> GEDs.

27:06>> And currently it's being funded at

27:07323150

27:09for fiscal year 2026,

27:12but that's a reduction from the year

27:14before where we were about 461,000.

27:18In 2026 we incurred 30% reduction. So

27:21the amount that we are currently being

27:23funded for the New Orleans adult adult

27:25learning center is 323,150.

27:28Our request is to go back. We are trying

27:31to reestablish what we were cut because

27:33they're have having difficulty

27:35performing those services as well

27:37because it's a pass-through that's being

27:39performed by an outside agency.

27:42And they have expenses as well. So right

27:44now the amount that you funded for

27:46fiscal year 2026 is 323,150.

27:50>> Okay.

27:51>> Okay.

27:57>> So one of the things that I think I'm

27:59going to ask all of the agencies that

28:02uh, are before us today and tomorrow is

28:05how do we get the jail population down

28:07and your role in getting that jail

28:09population down. I know that there's

28:10been progress with the DA,

28:13um, the public defender, and the sheriff

28:16on trying to minimize the jail

28:18population by

28:20doing various tactics. Uh, is there any

28:23idea or thought of how we can speed up

28:26reduction

28:28in the jail population

28:30and your role in it?

28:31>> So we've already, um, I think criminal

28:34district court has basically, I think,

28:36been leading in uh, jail population

28:40reduction

28:42um, through the programs that I talked

28:43about. So pre-trial services, uh,

28:46domestic violence monitoring court. Um

28:48all those programs that allow us to do

28:51these public safety assessments and then

28:53allow us to have case managers that

28:55monitor those who are placed on

28:57electronic monitoring, who post bond,

28:59etc. Without these programs, then more

29:03people do stay in custody. And without

29:05the number of um types of monitoring and

29:07supervision, then more people do stay in

29:09custody. So, a lot of the initiatives

29:12that we've taken, it's been since 2013

29:15when the city partnered with the um it

29:19was the Arnold Foundation and MacArthur

29:21Foundation and uh when some of the

29:23reductions continued to take place. But

29:26without the programs that the court has,

29:29um I don't see any way that we can

29:31ensure any continued reduction.

29:34>> Okay.

29:34>> But that is why these services are

29:36crucial, specifically the sanity

29:38commission, because that allows them to

29:40get in there, evaluate them right after

29:43first appearance, and if in fact they

29:45need to be more extensive service, that

29:47allows them to get us get those

29:49defendants out the jail either to UMC or

29:52transferred to Elms, so they're not in

29:54our particular system. But we do have

29:56two things coming down the pipes that's

29:58going to impact the jail population even

30:00more and probably increase the cost to

30:03the sheriff's office. One, of course, is

30:05the reduction of the three judges. So,

30:07we're going to have the same amount of

30:09cases with three less people to move

30:11them, which is obviously going to result

30:13in some higher incarceration times. The

30:16second is a law that the legislature

30:18passed this year. It's 3 1.2.1.

30:22That law requires that if someone is on

30:25probation, I mean, on bond for a certain

30:28list of crimes,

30:31that if they're re-arrested on a new

30:32felony,

30:34they have to go through a hearing before

30:37they can be readmitted to bond. So,

30:39that's requiring a lot of transferring

30:42around the court system because if they

30:44come to me on a new felony, I have to

30:45hold them under that statute, send it to

30:48the the judge that they have their other

30:50bond, but the bigger issue is when

30:52they're out of parish, we still have to

30:54hold them and at some point transfer for

30:57what them to the judge that

31:00they belong that has the original bond.

31:02So, we're holding people extra time both

31:05for those hearings and to transfer them

31:07to other jurisdictions.

31:09>> Okay.

31:10Let me just ask one last question then

31:12I'll turn it over to my colleagues. So,

31:14last year you plugged the hole with

31:15about $3 million

31:17and you were able to sustain yourself.

31:19You're asking for another what? $4

31:21million this budget season?

31:24Um

31:25What is the

31:27We're not You're not going to get $4

31:28million. I mean, that's just the

31:30reality. What is What is the minimum

31:33amount that you need

31:35to continue these programs and continue

31:38to function?

31:40>> We we would have to make another

31:42assessment because the request that

31:43we're asking for would be to fully fund

31:46us where we were because we did incur

31:48that 30% reduction last year and I just

31:51want to also just highlight on that same

31:54page that we were on. Jury Commission

31:56was funded by 300

31:58City of New Orleans funded us at

32:00315,000.

32:02We were receiving 450,000 from the

32:05Supreme Court that will be eliminated.

32:07So, Jury Commission alone cannot

32:09function on 315,000.

32:12So, we would have to go back and really

32:14do another assessment of the budget to

32:16answer I don't think we can answer that

32:18question right off the bat.

32:19>> And and that's fine. Look, I'm I'm

32:21You guys know me. You've known me for

32:23years. We're friends.

32:25I just I'm a straight shooter. Like,

32:27you're not going to get $4 million.

32:28That's You're not going to get that

32:30amount. So, if you can whittle down and

32:31say exactly the amount that you need

32:34to function at least for this year until

32:37we can get our feet back underneath us.

32:39I think that would be helpful to all of

32:40us so that we can make an informed

32:42decision.

32:44Okay?

32:45All right. Matthew Willard followed by

32:46Council Member Morrell. Did you have a

32:48question? You got mine. Thank you.

32:52>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh thank you all

32:54for coming down today and presenting the

32:56budget. Just a couple follow-up

32:58questions for for clarity. Um

33:03did you assign like a dollar value um in

33:06which you would not expend with the

33:08elimination of those three judgeships

33:11and and staff?

33:12>> 1.1 million.

33:14>> 1.1. Okay. Um

33:17it looks like

33:19on the personnel side in the budget, um

33:23the request from you guys was about

33:25$800,000 less than it was last year. And

33:29I'm assuming some of that most of that

33:31is from the elimination of those

33:33positions.

33:34>> Yes.

33:34>> Then, um

33:37I noticed that

33:39the request that that uh criminal court

33:42is making from the city for this year

33:44for next year's budget is about 2

33:46million higher than the city's provided

33:48in the last 5 years. It looks like 2025

33:52was the highest at around 7.2 million.

33:56Um

33:57is that due to

33:59the the loss

34:01>> funding.

34:02>> the loss of state funds, grants, grants

34:04ruling out and whatnot. So, what's going

34:06on with the Supreme Court funding

34:08because it it you know, you guys were

34:10getting Supreme Court funding, but now

34:11you're not getting it. Is that Was that

34:13part of the the change with the

34:16legislation earlier this year or is this

34:18just a decision to prove

34:19>> that is That is just the primary change.

34:21So, the Supreme Court does not have its

34:24own independent source of funding. The

34:26Supreme Court gets its funding

34:28>> from the legislation.

34:28>> we would fund you guys in the

34:30legislature, it would be routed through

34:32the Supreme Court essentially. Okay.

34:35>> And they were funding us at a value of

34:37around 4. Well, they said seven in some

34:40of the hearings, but it was really about

34:414.2, 4.5. So, they funded that half for

34:45the beginning of the year,

34:47but they're not funding the second half.

34:48So, that's where that 2 million comes

34:50from.

34:51>> Okay.

34:52>> And and so, that means that, you know,

34:54if we're thinking about the future for

34:552028, we have no funding. Correct.

34:59>> Okay.

35:00Yeah, I mean,

35:01and I'm sure we'll we'll get there, but

35:04um I think the the clerk is going to

35:06have to really look at increasing those

35:08those fines and fees in civil court um

35:11to balance out, you know, the operations

35:14and salaries in in criminal court, uh

35:16but that'll be a separate discussion

35:18like uh

35:18>> and we are waiting for an accounting.

35:20Sorry to interrupt. We are waiting on

35:21the clerk to kind of provide us with a a

35:24clear accounting of what is going out

35:26before the courts get paid. Um that's

35:29the meeting we've been trying to

35:30schedule, and we're hoping to reschedule

35:32it very soon.

35:33>> Okay. Yeah, that's very I mean, that's

35:35very timely if you ask me. So,

35:37um

35:38I guess keep us in the loop there. Um

35:41so, it looks like the adopted budget was

35:436.2 million for 26, but your projected

35:47actuals are about 9.9. Is that basically

35:50you guys depleting your reserve your

35:52reserves?

35:53>> Correct. Yes.

35:54>> So, rolling into next year, that'll be

35:57essentially zeroed out. Correct. All

35:59right.

36:00Um

36:02and my last question is, so in the

36:04template spreadsheet, tab three showed

36:07that you guys had a fund balance of

36:09about 5 million as of the end of June.

36:12Um any idea what it's where it stands

36:14today?

36:15>> Template three?

36:17>> It was it included restricted funding

36:19and general fund. I think your general

36:21fund was around 2.1 million.

36:23>> Oh, Jesus.

36:24Give me 1 second. Okay, so the funds

36:27that the the balances that are on this

36:29page, some of these funds are not we can

36:31we don't have access to it. We are

36:33legally

36:33>> of it is restricted.

36:35>> Exactly.

36:35>> Yeah, yeah.

36:35>> Yes, so those funds that are there,

36:37that's part of the 3.2 million that's

36:40going to take us through December 31st.

36:42>> Got you.

36:43>> Yes.

36:43>> Okay.

36:44>> Mhm.

36:45>> All right. Um, thank you all for coming

36:46down. Uh, keep keep me in the loop on

36:49the conversations with the the clerk.

36:51>> Okay. Thank you all for having us.

36:54>> Uh, council member will have a question.

36:55>> sorry.

36:56>> Thank you. I'm uh,

36:57following up with uh, council member

36:59Williams. I think I'll be a little bit

37:00more robust.

37:02Um,

37:03the legislature's goal on consolidating

37:05the clerk's office, as they stated

37:07repeatedly, was to make us like

37:09everybody else. Correct? That's what we

37:10all heard. That was the argument. And as

37:13you know, in every other parish in the

37:15state

37:17of Louisiana, the clerk's office

37:20collects funds on the civil side to fund

37:24the criminal side.

37:26>> Right.

37:26>> And so right now what we have, the

37:28disconnect is

37:30when we had two stand-alone courts, I'm

37:32going to I'm going to put on my like

37:34Professor J.P. hat for a second. Dating

37:36back to the days of John Alario and

37:38first term Edwin Edwards. This is like

37:41the 1970s before I was born.

37:44When the courts were stand-alone,

37:47there was a specific appropriation in

37:50HB1 that came to criminal district court

37:54>> Right.

37:54>> to meet the obligation that existed

37:57because we had two clerks, and

37:59constitutionally,

38:01criminal court cannot charge filing

38:03fees. So, you were

38:05functionally underfunded. You were

38:07functionally unable to fund yourselves.

38:09>> That's right.

38:10>> And over the course of years, the

38:11legislature tried repeatedly, whether it

38:13be through um,

38:16fines and fees to those people who are

38:18incarcerated, whether it be through

38:20every way they could possibly think to

38:22give revenue streams to criminal court,

38:25but none of them stuck because they were

38:26all unconstitutional.

38:27>> Correct.

38:28>> So,

38:30part of the legislature's kind of like

38:33dance over getting rid of the clerk of

38:36criminal court was that they would no

38:39longer have to give you any money.

38:42And in fact, the chair of appropriations

38:45uh Representative McFarland said, "Now

38:49that you're like everybody else, they

38:52cut your funding." Which is basically

38:53what was flowing to you through the

38:55Supreme Court.

38:56>> Yeah.

38:56>> Correct? Following so far?

38:57>> That's right. Yeah.

38:58>> Here's the problem the legislature

39:00created in their

39:03ridiculous rush to eliminate the clerk

39:05of criminal court.

39:07They did not put a mandate on the

39:10Orleans Parish clerk to fund criminal

39:12court.

39:14So,

39:16basically, the clerk of Orleans Parish

39:20has all the responsibilities

39:22to fund court, but no obligation to do

39:25so.

39:27Is that about where we're at today?

39:29>> That's where we're at.

39:30>> Okay.

39:31Now, I say all this because one, I know

39:34that uh our CAO is in conversations with

39:37the legislature right now to address

39:40this issue. Um I believe they're going

39:42to have to go back into that legislation

39:44and specifically put language in saying,

39:47"You have the responsibility as the

39:50clerk of Orleans Parish to fund all of

39:54court." Because I know I say this every

39:56year, and I know you're tired of hearing

39:57it, but it's rich dad, poor dad.

39:59>> Mhm.

39:59>> Civil court is sitting on surpluses,

40:02while you guys are cutting essential

40:04programs.

40:06When we we are looking at this

40:09historic drop in crime in the city of

40:12New Orleans, the programs you offer are

40:15part of

40:17the essential cogs that make this

40:19machine operate.

40:21And while the clerk is sitting on

40:23surpluses

40:25and not meeting with you to figure out

40:27how to address this issue,

40:29this is a problem the legislature

40:32created because it empowered a singular

40:34clerk with no obligation to fund half of

40:39the court system.

40:40Now, I say that with the caveat, when it

40:42comes to your capital expenditures,

40:45every parish, every city has the

40:47responsibility to take care of your

40:50building.

40:50>> Right.

40:51>> So, when it comes to your jury room

40:53having black mold or whatever, that's on

40:54us.

40:55>> Absolutely.

40:55>> When it comes to that, making sure the

40:57building, the roof doesn't leak, to make

40:59sure that everything operates physically

41:02in the building,

41:03every parish, every city bears the

41:06responsibility for your capital cost.

41:09But when it comes to your programming,

41:11when it comes to your employees, when it

41:13comes to your day-to-day operations,

41:15that is the responsibility of the clerk.

41:19And if you want to be the clerk of

41:22Orleans Parish, you have to do your job

41:25by funding all of the courts, not just

41:29the court where your office is.

41:31And so, I I heard you say you're trying

41:33to get that meeting set up. We are in

41:35the middle of a budget crisis trying to

41:37figure out how to rob Peter to pay Paul

41:40and fund all aspects of the city of New

41:42Orleans.

41:43>> Correct.

41:43>> Everybody needs to show up and show what

41:47they're going to put down to make sure

41:48criminal court can function. And I would

41:51certainly encourage the clerk to show up

41:54and say where they're going to dip into

41:57in her extensive, large surplus to help

42:01you get through this year until we can

42:02get the legislature to correct their

42:04mistake.

42:05But as the budget chair said,

42:09we do not have enough money to pay for

42:11everything. And what we're talking about

42:13today is not the money we historically

42:16give you, it's talking about how we make

42:18up the state money the state will no

42:20longer give you.

42:22>> Correct.

42:22>> And I think that's an important caveat.

42:23When it comes to our commitment

42:26to funding and a subsidizing criminal

42:28court, we're meeting it. We just can't

42:30afford to meet the additional obligation

42:34the state has put on the city by not

42:36putting that obligation on the clerk of

42:39Orleans Parish.

42:41>> So, just for clarity, cuz you said that

42:43Civil Court is sitting on a surplus. Now

42:47that I'm on the consolidated JEF, that

42:49was what I thought all this time, too.

42:51Civil Court itself is not sitting on the

42:54surplus. The Clerk's office is sitting

42:57on the surplus. The only mandate from

43:00the legislature right now is that the

43:02clerk put in 60% of the filing fees

43:07into

43:09the JEF, which has now become the

43:11consolidated JEF. They do not address

43:14surpluses in this bill. They do not

43:16address

43:18They don't even clarify whether it's

43:20really gross or net in this bill. So,

43:22what we're getting right now, or what's

43:24going into that fund right now, is 60%

43:27of the net of of the Clerk's office. So,

43:30that's after all the expenses of the

43:32Clerk's office is taken out.

43:33>> That That is a very important

43:35distinction because

43:36unlike other parishes,

43:38>> Right.

43:39>> our clerk of Civil Court has infinitely

43:44more control over the money that the

43:46judges generate through filing fees more

43:49than any other clerk in the state of

43:51Louisiana.

43:53If you look at other parishes, the money

43:56that comes in through the clerk is

43:58regulated by the equivalent of the JEF,

44:00or whatever the judge the judges on

44:02block.

44:04It is very unusual

44:06that the clerk of court sits on such a

44:09significant pot of surplus money in

44:13their budget. That is not normal and

44:16that is a relic of the clerk of civil

44:19court.

44:20I think that what needs to happen at the

44:22legislative level is they need to go

44:23back in to their consolidated clerk bill

44:26and make that clerk like every other

44:29clerk where all of the money comes in,

44:31you should be when it comes to their

44:33amount of money they have for their

44:34courthouse, that's separate, but

44:37the clerk should not be sitting on

44:39surpluses on operations any year. No

44:43other clerk does that. The money comes

44:44in, it goes out. The fact that a clerk

44:48is sitting on an operational surplus is

44:51just money. It's just money and when you

44:53look at the fact that the newly

44:56consolidated

44:58courts have a need that will directly

45:02impact operations,

45:04it makes the idea that there could be an

45:06operational surplus

45:09completely ridiculous

45:11because

45:13if anything, what should happen in a

45:15reasonable place is that you take your

45:18operational surplus, you make the courts

45:21function, then you go back to the judges

45:24on bank and you raise the civil court

45:26fees to cover the operations of the

45:30consolidated judicial system. That is

45:33what should have happened. And the fact

45:35that it hasn't happened yet

45:38really draws concern to me because it

45:41shows a lack of urgency.

45:44If you have the operational resources to

45:47make sure both courts can operate at a

45:50at efficient levels, this should have

45:52happened already.

45:54And I really call upon my legislative

45:57colleagues and I will work with the

45:59council and the members of the

46:00delegation to correct this issue going

46:03forward, but

46:05it's very [clears throat] disappointing

46:06right now that in the midst of the city

46:10having a deficit, the clerk has not

46:13stepped up with their surplus to solve

46:16this problem.

46:18Thank you, Madam Chair.

46:20>> Council member Wheeler.

46:20>> Just to follow up on that. So, the 60%

46:23that goes into the JEF, is that split

46:26between criminal and civil?

46:27>> It is.

46:28>> Wow. All right, thanks.

46:29>> Well,

46:30read before it was split. Let me So,

46:32that's what I was saying. Before it just

46:33went to civil, and the amount that's

46:35been going to civil is

46:38keeping their head above water.

46:40>> Do you know how much Do you know how

46:42much it is?

46:42>> It depends on cuz it's based on filing

46:44fees, so it can alternate monthly, but

46:47from what I got from civil court, on any

46:50given month, sometimes if they have a

46:52deficit, sometimes they have a surplus,

46:54and at the end of last year, I think

46:56they finished with a surplus of a couple

46:58hundred thousand.

46:59>> But,

47:00>> maybe 200, 250,000.

47:02>> But, if some months they have a deficit,

47:05wouldn't it just make sense to increase

47:07the the filing fee so you never I mean,

47:09>> [snorts]

47:10>> The civil judges don't make that

47:11decision.

47:13>> Got it. Thank you, Judge.

47:18>> All right.

47:19Thank you all. Anybody Any other

47:21questions?

47:21>> No, that's it. Thank you. Thank you.

47:22>> Thank you all for your time and

47:24attention.

47:24>> And we're looking forward to the revised

47:26budget.

47:27>> Thank you.

47:28>> Next up is the District Attorney's

47:30office.

47:37>> The money for the clerks in the court.

47:46>> That's right, Judge.

47:48>> All right.

47:49>> Uh-huh. You guys got the operational

47:50thing going?

47:51>> Okay.

47:52>> All right.

47:54>> How you doing?

47:55>> I'm good.

47:56>> Okay.

47:58>> I see you guys are still here.

48:05>> Okay.

48:53>> Um members, the system has gone down

48:55again, so uh

48:57we might you just throw a piece of paper

48:58at me if you have a question.

49:14Mr. DA, whenever you're ready.

49:16>> Okay, I'm always ready. Let's jump in.

49:19It's good to be back with you all. Um

49:21this feels like coming home.

49:23Uh although I've come home uh back to a

49:26home that uh has run out of money.

49:29Uh which makes it a lot harder. Um I um

49:32was in a group of people

49:34uh last night and uh a friend of mine

49:36said that he believes this city council

49:39is the best city council he's ever seen,

49:41and he apologized to me after he said

49:43it, and I said, "I agree with you." I

49:44said, "I I see how much they're working.

49:47I see how much they're in community, and

49:49not to mention what they're up against

49:52is very different from anything that I

49:54was up against or that any other council

49:56that I've seen has been up against and

49:57you all have been navigating very

50:00difficult tumultuous waters very, very

50:03well.

50:04Um, thank you all for letting us present

50:06today.

50:07Uh, thank you for continuing to push us

50:09through probably the most

50:12uh,

50:13devastating fiscal crisis uh,

50:15we can imagine.

50:17Um,

50:19thank you to your staff uh, that have

50:21been getting you all the information you

50:22need so you can make sure that you can

50:24weigh everything that's in front of us.

50:26I'll begin with a review of our 2026

50:29goals.

50:31Um,

50:32obviously to effectively support victims

50:35and witnesses, achieve the best possible

50:36case outcomes, maintain a qualified and

50:39professional staff, and avoid more

50:42importantly, avoid backsliding

50:45the hard-fought public safety gains that

50:47we all have achieved. Uh, the goals of

50:51supporting victims and achieving the

50:52best possible outcomes

50:54uh, marked in progress

50:57uh,

50:58largely due to the investment of this

51:00city council.

51:02Uh, I was at this table in 2022, USA

51:05Today the 2 days before had named us the

51:08murder capital of the country again.

51:12Uh, we discussed the the issues

51:14presented. Uh, we came up with a plan,

51:17we presented that plan to you which

51:19included the building of a one-of-a-kind

51:23uh, homicide unit. Uh, we provided a

51:26very tight budget for that homicide

51:28unit. This council funded that measure

51:32um,

51:32and in less than a year we began to

51:35drive those numbers down and we've

51:36continued to do that for 4 years since

51:39and now there's people coming around

51:40from other parishes and other states uh,

51:43looking at that work and I'm always very

51:45clear that that work was only possible

51:48uh, because of an investment

51:51by this council into our specialty

51:54units.

51:56The

51:57recent reports from Jeff Asher

51:59Metropolitan Crime Commission FBI have

52:01described the conviction rate as

52:04hovering at about 95%.

52:06And that those are Orleans Parish jurors

52:09who are making unanimous decisions on

52:12these cases.

52:14SBU unit

52:16co-leads a greater New Orleans human

52:18trafficking task force

52:20which um

52:22has complimented really exemplary work

52:24around the state in this area. You've

52:26noticed many more arrests in that space

52:29than we've ever seen before despite the

52:31city of New Orleans always being

52:34a destination city. We've been fortunate

52:39for the things that we have collectively

52:42as a city as public safety agencies put

52:44in place

52:46to have seen early and sustained public

52:50safety gains.

52:52But as we all know there are no victory

52:54flags in the space of public safety

52:58and backsliding has occurred throughout

53:01the years. It is imperative that we

53:02maintain the the level of investments

53:06that have gotten us this far.

53:08Personnel

53:09budget challenges and operational

53:11realities forced us to make some shifts

53:14in resources because we saw this coming.

53:18So you might see actual positions that

53:20are less than budgeted in one category

53:23and slightly more

53:25than budgeted in another category

53:27because we have already shifted to

53:30um

53:32more than a year ago into the triage

53:34space necessary to deal with the fiscal

53:37crisis that we're facing.

53:39We'll likely have some additional shifts

53:40between now and year end, as we continue

53:43to assess ways to streamline.

53:46Overall, we are a leaner agency today

53:49than we were a year ago. We thought it

53:50was important that we come in already

53:52demonstrating our commitment to

53:54tightening the belt. Uh though we

53:57cautioned there is a tipping point. Uh

54:00there is a point when absorbing cuts

54:03begins to

54:05uh

54:05trickle out into community in

54:07devastating ways.

54:09Our 20 27 goals

54:12uh

54:13are contained uh are to contain the

54:16backlogs uh in in the dockets um

54:20from what was just described by the

54:23judges, we're going from 12 to 9. Uh

54:26which means we we have

54:28closed the neck of the bottle even more

54:32in terms of

54:34expeditiously

54:35resolving cases. Uh and so we have been

54:38working with partners

54:41and within our

54:43own internal um

54:45working groups

54:47to find ways to expedite case resolution

54:50and timelines

54:52uh to create efficiencies in managing

54:54data and digital evidence uh

54:57in order to continue to maintain those

55:00gains with fewer people.

55:01Uh

55:02as we

55:04reach

55:06the beginning of a new year with those

55:08fewer courtrooms

55:10that presents a huge challenge uh which

55:13I believe was articulated by the judges

55:15in terms of managing a backlog and

55:18resolving cases more efficiently with

55:20more cases flowing into the other nine

55:23sections.

55:24Our jurisdiction, Orleans Parish, has

55:26the highest number of criminal jury

55:27trials uh

55:30compared to any other uh parish.

55:33A single homicide or single rape trial

55:37can occupy courtroom for an entire week.

55:41Uh your own Ashley Spears is one of the

55:43best prosecutors we had. She can attest

55:46to the number of woman hours and man

55:49hours it takes to resolve serious cases.

55:52Longer dockets will keep attorneys in

55:55court for longer

55:57hours during which they are unable to

55:59actually work on the next case up. Uh to

56:03work with the next victim up, to work

56:04with the next set of witnesses and

56:06experts that are up.

56:08As the amount of digital evidence grows

56:10and we thank you for your investment in

56:13uh real-time cameras,

56:15uh into license plate readers,

56:18uh into body-worn cameras and dash-worn

56:20cameras, but what that means is we have

56:23volumes of more information to absorb,

56:27synthesize, and get to the public

56:29defender's office, and get to the judges

56:31so that a a case can be presented

56:33constitutionally and fairly.

56:36Though challenging, uh we've been able

56:38to work with AI uh and Bancroft Global

56:42to figure out ways to expedite that

56:44work.

56:45Uh I've committed to working alongside

56:47our other public safety partners to

56:49triage and expedite case resolutions.

56:53Uh this is a goal that uh the public

56:56defenders representing defendants,

56:58uh our sheriff operating a crowded jail,

57:01and that the judges have just described

57:03to you.

57:05Uh it's it's a group left. Uh there's a

57:07direct correlation between the pace of

57:11case progression

57:13and the burden and expense placed upon

57:16OPS so and our other justice agencies.

57:20Uh every part of the justice system

57:23uh

57:23uh is going to need an investment

57:27to make sure that we are not uh

57:32petty wise and pound-foolish when it

57:34comes to the jail. Uh

57:37I was just uh touring the jail with our

57:40two at-large members

57:42uh with Judge Africk. I think we are

57:44remarkably close, remarkably close to

57:47getting out of the consent decree. What

57:49it's going to take uh a

57:51certain key efforts from this council

57:53and certain key efforts

57:55uh from my office and other agencies to

57:58get us

57:59uh to that point, but we are

58:02dangerously dangerously close.

58:05A smaller jail and I I I say this

58:09uh I know I'm here representing one

58:12office, the DA's office. Um but we are

58:15an ecosystem much like a lake,

58:17uh much like an ocean, much like a

58:19forest.

58:20Uh the players in that system depend on

58:23each other.

58:24A smaller jail means a safer, more

58:27efficient justice system and potentially

58:30millions of dollars of savings going

58:32back to the city coffers. Today we have

58:35approximately four 1475 people in our

58:39parish jail.

58:41Our goal,

58:42not the sheriff's goal, not the judges

58:44goal, not the public defender's goal,

58:46our goal as a criminal justice system is

58:49to very quickly get that number to 900.

58:53Uh

58:53that is 575

58:56fewer people occupying very very

58:59expensive jail beds every single day.

59:03We get there by moving cases faster. Uh

59:07that takes uh not just an ADA in each a

59:10section of court, but an assigned public

59:13defender much the way it was uh when JP

59:16Morrell was a public defender. When the

59:18judge knew who his public defender was

59:21going to be every single day, it meant

59:24that they could hold that public

59:26defender and my prosecutor accountable

59:29for the trial date they agreed on to

59:31make sure the case either gets tried

59:33that day,

59:34gets resolved that day, so that it does

59:37not go into next week's docket. Um

59:41And it also requires dedicated case

59:43resolution days. Uh the judges were just

59:46up here and and and and and you all were

59:48asking all the right questions.

59:51Um

59:51But one of the things that we were able

59:53to do with Section J's docket, that's

59:56where Daryl Durbney was. We had uh Chief

59:59Judge retired Calvin Johnson, we had

1:00:01retired Judge Ron Zeiblich, we had

1:00:03dedicated uh public defenders and ADAs

1:00:06figuring out ways to triage that docket

1:00:10to get it down.

1:00:12And we got it down in that one Section

1:00:13Court. Our goal now, and we've been

1:00:16meeting with Daniel Shanks

1:00:18uh and and and the public defender's

1:00:20office

1:00:21uh and and their stakeholders and my

1:00:22stakeholders to figure out where to take

1:00:24the lessons learned from Section J,

1:00:26apply them all to apply them to all 12

1:00:29sections before we go to nine, and then

1:00:32keep applying them to the nine sections

1:00:34so that these efficiencies will result

1:00:37in fewer people in jail. Now, this is

1:00:39not about everybody getting out of jail.

1:00:42Some of these folks are going to get

1:00:42convicted, but they need to be then

1:00:45processed to the Department of

1:00:47Corrections where they're supposed to be

1:00:49housed. Now, that requires the state to

1:00:51do their job and send a van down and

1:00:53pick up folks after they've been

1:00:55processed, just like when that jail

1:00:57break happened. Four or five of those

1:00:59guys, their cases already been resolved.

1:01:02The state should have already had them

1:01:04in

1:01:04in the Department of Corrections. And we

1:01:07need to make sure that's happening. I

1:01:08know that the sh- the sheriff has been

1:01:11reaching out to her state partners to

1:01:13make sure that there is an efficient

1:01:16uh Thursday case resolve, Friday come

1:01:19and get them so we can have those jail

1:01:21beds.

1:01:23Um and I want to ensure the people of

1:01:25this community understand that what

1:01:26we're talking about is not releasing

1:01:28people from jail to community. In some

1:01:32instances, that may be the case, but

1:01:34this is about

1:01:35ending unnecessary delays and delivering

1:01:39accountability sooner and ensuring that

1:01:41the state, not only New Orleans

1:01:43taxpayers, are bearing the appropriate

1:01:46responsibility for those state

1:01:49sentences. I I'll say it again. A

1:01:51sustained reduction of jail population

1:01:54uh will will not only help lower

1:01:56operating costs

1:01:58uh and reduce the pressure for

1:02:00additional jail capacity, it will

1:02:02support the city's effort to achieve

1:02:04compliance

1:02:05uh with its stated goals, and ultimately

1:02:09uh help us seek in months

1:02:12uh rather than a year

1:02:14or weeks rather than months

1:02:17uh the end of the Or- Orleans Parish

1:02:19Sheriff's Office federal consent decree.

1:02:22Uh the choice is whether we invest in

1:02:23moving cases efficiently or paying for

1:02:26the consequences of that delay.

1:02:30We can spend less on unnecessary

1:02:31detention,

1:02:33uh protect public safety, and build a

1:02:35justice system that is delivering

1:02:37results rather than accumulating costs,

1:02:39putting the city in a position to decide

1:02:42how better wants to use that close to $5

1:02:45million that will be coming back after

1:02:46the consent decree, how it wants to use

1:02:49those jail beds and those other

1:02:51facilities that'll then now be back

1:02:53online, and allowing our sheriff to be

1:02:56able to use the saved resources to

1:02:58actually staff Phase Three, which is

1:03:01non-negotiable uh in order to get out of

1:03:03this consent decree as uh argued uh by

1:03:08um

1:03:09very clearly uh by Judge Africk uh

1:03:11during our tour.

1:03:13Um

1:03:16Our investments

1:03:19uh going into 2027.

1:03:21And if you look at

1:03:23how the investments moved between 2022

1:03:26and 2025,

1:03:28recorded murders also went down because

1:03:31of those investments.

1:03:33The proposed 2027 allocation of 6.94

1:03:37million represents a 50% a 56% decrease

1:03:40from 2025 and would require elimination

1:03:45of entire divisions that this city

1:03:47council built dedicated to holding

1:03:50violent offenders accountable, sex

1:03:52crimes offenders, murderers.

1:03:55For example, even if we eliminated our

1:03:58entire homicide unit, our special

1:04:00victims unit, our devote adult diversion

1:04:04unit, and nearly all of our

1:04:05investigators, and most of our victim

1:04:09advocates,

1:04:10we still did not get close to the

1:04:13proposed reduction. Just to give you an

1:04:16idea of the families, human beings,

1:04:19survivors, and next of kin we would not

1:04:22be able to serve. The proposed amount

1:04:24would result in a near shutdown of the

1:04:27work that is required to deliver for

1:04:30this community and I believe deliver the

1:04:34jail efficiency the jail reduction

1:04:36efficiencies necessary to save money.

1:04:39In comparison the local budget

1:04:41allocation for our neighboring parish

1:04:44which does not have the same workload

1:04:46Jefferson Parish

1:04:47was little over 16 million dollars in

1:04:502025, 17 million in 2026.

1:04:54Notably, the Jefferson Parish DA's

1:04:56office also receives dedicated funds

1:04:58pursuant to a criminal justice millage.

1:05:01And I know there's been conversations

1:05:02about a millage.

1:05:04Their millage generates about 4.8

1:05:06million last year.

1:05:09That jurisdiction held about 22 trials

1:05:12last year. Our homicide team alone

1:05:15handles more trials than that in a

1:05:18single year. That's all of their trials.

1:05:20I say this not to disparage our great

1:05:22neighbors in Jefferson Parish. I love

1:05:24Paul Connick.

1:05:25But rather just to highlight the

1:05:27difficulties of the workload,

1:05:29the difficulties of recruiting and

1:05:32retaining and effectively managing the

1:05:34most challenging caseloads in the state.

1:05:37Prosecutors across the nation have

1:05:40struggled to recruit

1:05:42in the face

1:05:44of

1:05:45a lot of bad publicity,

1:05:47which is probably deserved based upon

1:05:49some of the work that was being put out

1:05:50over the past couple of decades.

1:05:53They've had a difficulty retaining

1:05:54skilled prosecutors because of the

1:05:56budget crisis that have existed, largely

1:05:58attributed to insufficient resources,

1:06:00crushing workloads, and generally the

1:06:02stressful nature of the work. You all

1:06:05know that we lost a young lawyer to a

1:06:09suicide

1:06:10in our office.

1:06:12And he was working in our sex crimes

1:06:14unit. The public defender's office lost

1:06:17one of their public defenders as well.

1:06:19It's a crushing workload.

1:06:22On the defense side, you

1:06:25protect a defendant's rights. That's a

1:06:27crushing workload for the folks on the

1:06:29other side of the V.

1:06:31On the prosecution side, you're charged

1:06:33with upholding the rights of the

1:06:35defendant as well, making sure they get

1:06:37a fair trial,

1:06:39speaking to unanimous juries,

1:06:43victims and witnesses,

1:06:46demanding that they have the protections

1:06:48they need and deserve to go back and

1:06:50forth to court.

1:06:52We also have the burden of proof,

1:06:54meaning we are charged with not just

1:06:56collecting, but compiling evidence and

1:06:59getting the necessary witnesses to court

1:07:01safely, and proving that case beyond a

1:07:04reasonable doubt every single time to

1:07:06all 12 jurors. It's extremely grueling

1:07:09work. There's grueling hours with

1:07:11non-competitive pay. It's a tough sell.

1:07:14The folks that work with us do it

1:07:16because it's a labor of love. It's a

1:07:18calling. Uh

1:07:20with probably more than $100,000

1:07:23in student loans, which the lawyers on

1:07:25this DA's know about. Um and with a

1:07:29government that has taken away the

1:07:32student loan repayment that was once

1:07:34something that we could use as a selling

1:07:36point. Um but we also at the DA's office

1:07:39have a number of ancillary duties

1:07:42in addition to our core prosecutorial

1:07:44duties that the public defender's office

1:07:46does not have. Uh we respond to

1:07:48post-conviction relief applications,

1:07:50expungement applications. We support the

1:07:53courts.

1:07:54Uh Judge Holmes

1:07:56and Judge Lombard just had an

1:07:57expungement day. We we support that

1:08:00because we have to play our role in

1:08:02doing that. I know you members of the

1:08:03City Council have also played a role in

1:08:06those expungements because if people

1:08:07don't have that on their record, they

1:08:10can get back in the workforce, which is

1:08:12where we want them to be. We also have

1:08:14name change petitions, which you'd be

1:08:16surprised how many we receive.

1:08:19Uh we receive open meetings law

1:08:21complaints. We facilitate asset and bond

1:08:23forfeiture processes.

1:08:26Uh and at times we are able to recoup

1:08:28large sums of money back to the DA's

1:08:31office, for the police department, and

1:08:33for the courts. Um and but it takes

1:08:36money to do that work in order to go

1:08:39after those assets. And we compete with

1:08:41the federal government for those as

1:08:42well. They've been a good partner with

1:08:44David Courcelle at the helm.

1:08:46Uh we also participate in child in need

1:08:49of care proceedings with DCFS. The

1:08:52public defender's office does not have

1:08:53to do that work. We also have a

1:08:55diversion program, which actually helps

1:08:58release the case load of the public

1:09:00defender's office cuz those individuals

1:09:02don't ever go to court. Uh they just get

1:09:05processed and get the help that they

1:09:07need to be good fathers, mothers, and

1:09:09good citizens.

1:09:11Uh and we also process hundreds of

1:09:13public records requests per year. So,

1:09:15our responsibilities are vast.

1:09:17Uh we understand the city remains in a

1:09:20fiscally restrained environment. Our

1:09:22request is a is a substantial ask.

1:09:25Uh in 2022, I asked this council to

1:09:27invest in a unit, and I promised

1:09:30results, and we delivered those results.

1:09:33Uh that unit has since won recognition

1:09:35for its incredible success across the

1:09:37country. Today, I ask this council to

1:09:40make us whole.

1:09:42Uh I commit to delivering the

1:09:44efficiencies that I have described,

1:09:47uh and I uh dedicate myself

1:09:51uh and my other partner agencies to not

1:09:53only delivering those results, but

1:09:56delivering that money back to the city

1:09:58coffers uh because of

1:10:03the necessary results of getting out of

1:10:06a consent decree.

1:10:08Uh but, I believe we can do it. I

1:10:11believe that it is incumbent upon us to

1:10:14do it, and I believe that we finally

1:10:16have a team

1:10:18uh that is willing to row in the same

1:10:21direction.

1:10:22Uh having partners, willing partners in

1:10:24the sheriff's office, willing partners

1:10:26in the public defender's office, willing

1:10:28partners on the dais, and willing

1:10:30willing partners across the hall from

1:10:32you all are going to allow us to achieve

1:10:34these goals. I want to describe the plan

1:10:35for you as I've set it out uh

1:10:39uh with the public defender's office.

1:10:40We'll be presenting to the en banc

1:10:42uh next week or the following week.

1:10:45Number one, an early allotment uh

1:10:48change. Changing allotment process so

1:10:51that allows the public defender's office

1:10:53to be vertical, but uh appoint a public

1:10:56defender very sooner. It will provide

1:10:58continuity of case management. A

1:11:00defendant will have the same

1:11:03public defender throughout the process

1:11:05just as our next of kin and survivors

1:11:08will have the same ADA throughout that

1:11:11process.

1:11:12Uh we hope that that will allow case

1:11:15management and allow case preparation

1:11:18days in the courts so we can do what we

1:11:21did in Section J. Uh pre-acceptance

1:11:25we're working. We have uh Meg Garvey

1:11:27working with Andre Jean-Pierre in my

1:11:29office who's chief of screening to very

1:11:31quickly deal with new arrests and

1:11:34screening situations and to put more

1:11:36pressure on the police department to

1:11:38provide police reports sooner so that we

1:11:39can screen cases faster and if they

1:11:42don't need to come into the system, they

1:11:43won't come into the system. And the

1:11:45post-acceptance, post-arraignment docket

1:11:48management system we're working with

1:11:50Nathaniel Weaver

1:11:51uh to create a dashboard dashboard that

1:11:54works with JTMP reporting so that this

1:11:57council can look at that uh docket

1:12:00reduction uh alongside of jail

1:12:03population reduction to see if we're

1:12:05hitting our benchmarks as we get closer

1:12:08uh to the end of the year.

1:12:10Uh the court scheduling, preparation,

1:12:11and case resolution sessions like we did

1:12:13in Section J we're going to bring to all

1:12:1512 sections. And we're also are creating

1:12:18something new uh and this was Daniel

1:12:20Shank's idea and it was a good idea.

1:12:23Targeted review of age aging and

1:12:27resource-intensive cases. Certain

1:12:30defendants cost us more money either

1:12:32because of their age, the age of the

1:12:34case, or or or health challenges.

1:12:39Uh a person who needs more health

1:12:41resources in the jail costs the city

1:12:44more money. We're going to make a list

1:12:46for every section of court so we can

1:12:48make sure those cases are getting

1:12:49earlier trial dates so that we can

1:12:51either get those individuals uh to the

1:12:54Department of Corrections or back into

1:12:56community

1:12:57uh just by being smart with what we do.

1:13:00And I'm not going to step on the

1:13:02sheriff's toes, but in terms of getting

1:13:04people sentenced sooner, we're going to

1:13:06work to get that work done. In terms of

1:13:08probation revocations, we're going to be

1:13:10pushing the courts not to wait till the

1:13:12new case is resolved, but to have that

1:13:14probation revocation hearing as soon as

1:13:17it appears on the docket, so that

1:13:19defendant can be moved uh to wherever he

1:13:21needs to be, but out of our jail.

1:13:24Uh but I know the sheriff is going to

1:13:26speak to getting the state to come

1:13:28faster to moving inmates out.

1:13:31Uh I just ask that

1:13:33uh you look at

1:13:34what we have asked for, you look at the

1:13:37plan that we would like to put forward,

1:13:41uh and we believe that funding this plan

1:13:44will return money

1:13:45uh to the city to to to the city coffers

1:13:48for you to decide where it should be

1:13:50best spent.

1:13:53>> Thank you. Council member Morel.

1:13:56>> Thank you. Uh I appreciate the

1:13:57presentation, uh Mr. DA. I do think one

1:14:00thing we talked about yesterday uh while

1:14:02we're doing the tour Judge Affleck, and

1:14:04I know this is going to kind of cross

1:14:05over into

1:14:07uh Sheriff Woodfork's presentation, but

1:14:10there was a highlight of some of the

1:14:12procedural delays in processing uh

1:14:15probation and parole. Can you go over

1:14:17that a little bit? I think it's

1:14:18important

1:14:19that there are

1:14:22logistical hurdles that will probably

1:14:24need legislative fixes to implement cuz

1:14:26it will shrink the period in which we

1:14:28are reprocessing people to DOC.

1:14:31>> 100% it's it's similar to um and so as

1:14:35it relates to probation revocations, a

1:14:36judge can decide immediately, I'm

1:14:39bringing this person into court, we're

1:14:41having a hearing, we're resolving this

1:14:43case on day one. As it relates to

1:14:46parole, we don't have that control and

1:14:48that's what you're speaking to.

1:14:51Uh the state has not

1:14:53uh

1:14:53improved the uh parole hearing system in

1:14:59a way

1:15:00uh to to to deal with the influx of

1:15:03parole hearings and revocation, which

1:15:05means that our city jail,

1:15:09uh which is supposed to be a

1:15:10a pre-trial detention jail, is housing

1:15:13individuals who are waiting for for the

1:15:17state to process their parole

1:15:21uh

1:15:21to have their parole hearing. It's

1:15:23similar to what happened when we

1:15:25increased uh ICE raids and immigration

1:15:28raids. We didn't increase the number of

1:15:29judges that are dealing with those

1:15:31issues. We have the same number of

1:15:34uh parole officers as we did

1:15:36um

1:15:37uh in the in the beginning of this

1:15:38gubernatorial term and so we're going to

1:15:40need a legislative fix to find ways of

1:15:44of expediting those parole hearings.

1:15:45It's out of my control. It's out of the

1:15:47judges' control.

1:15:49Uh but we we face the consequences of

1:15:52holding those individuals in our jail

1:15:54pre-trial.

1:15:55>> Right. So, I mean, essentially, like,

1:15:57not to get in the nuts and bolts, but

1:15:59you often have to have a committee or a

1:16:00board come together to to consider a

1:16:03parole revocation.

1:16:04>> Exactly.

1:16:05>> And they're trying to find space and

1:16:08time to have them show up and all those

1:16:10things are outside of your control,

1:16:12outside of the sheriff's control, and

1:16:15they're probably simple legislative fix

1:16:17like having those hearings be virtual

1:16:19where you can have them from Baton Rouge

1:16:21and have the person come in and have the

1:16:23data there.

1:16:24Um

1:16:25those are things that we're going to

1:16:26have to go to the legislature and get

1:16:28fixed. I also want to talk about real

1:16:29quickly um when it comes to how we're

1:16:33dealing with probation holds for other

1:16:36parishes.

1:16:38Um

1:16:39how is that impacting? Cuz obviously,

1:16:41the

1:16:43every time we have someone have to enter

1:16:45the courtroom and have to deal with

1:16:47those individuals, all those things

1:16:50delay trial time.

1:16:52How can we help you working with the

1:16:54legislature kind of remove these

1:16:55obstacles to make court operate more

1:16:58efficiently?

1:16:59>> So, I mean, I think when you look at

1:17:02probation holds from other

1:17:04jurisdictions, whatever jurisdiction has

1:17:06placed the hold,

1:17:08I believe should bear the responsibility

1:17:10of holding that particular inmate.

1:17:13So, some of the complexities come in and

1:17:15and the sheriff may speak to this as

1:17:17well, is when someone has an open case

1:17:19in multiple jurisdictions,

1:17:21whether or not but and and and as you

1:17:24know,

1:17:25COVID changed everything. It allowed us

1:17:28to virtually handle matters that

1:17:31previously required people to

1:17:33be in the same room to deal with. And

1:17:36so, if there a legislative fix that can

1:17:39expedite a parole hearing or probation

1:17:42revocation hearing

1:17:44and keep the person housed in a facility

1:17:48in the jurisdiction where they need to

1:17:50be housed and should legally be housed,

1:17:53that's what Orleans Parish needs because

1:17:55we simply I mean, Jefferson Parish has

1:17:57prison overcrowding release. I mean,

1:17:59they've got a safety valve. They're

1:18:01They're never going to go above their

1:18:02number because they're just going to let

1:18:03them out. We don't have the luxury of

1:18:05that in Orleans Parish and frankly, I

1:18:07don't think the press, the media and the

1:18:08public would allow that to work in

1:18:10Orleans Parish. But what we don't need

1:18:13is the same issue we have with with

1:18:15homelessness is the rest of other

1:18:18parishes dumping their folks in Orleans

1:18:21Parish. And so, legislative fix can fix

1:18:23that.

1:18:23>> Well, I mean, also like we have the

1:18:25issue of warrant holds. And like for

1:18:28example, and this is happened frequently

1:18:30when I was a public defender,

1:18:32you would have a judge, let's say in

1:18:36like Ruston, Louisiana, who put a

1:18:38warrant out for somebody not paying a

1:18:39traffic ticket. And

1:18:43it was meant to send a message to that

1:18:45speeder. However, when that person is

1:18:47sitting in Orleans Parish Prison and

1:18:50Ruston's deciding whether or not they

1:18:52want to extradite him,

1:18:53um

1:18:54the cost of sending that message is

1:18:56borne by Orleans Parish because we're

1:18:58having that person sit in jail

1:19:00needlessly because when you hear

1:19:01probation

1:19:03and and parole holds, you're thinking of

1:19:05the worst of the worst. But there are

1:19:07plenty of instances in which we have

1:19:09people in the system that are there in a

1:19:12way almost to inconvenience them and

1:19:15inconvenience the parish holding them

1:19:17when the parish you made the original

1:19:19warrant hold really has no intention of

1:19:20sending an actual sheriff down to

1:19:22extradite someone over over a speeding

1:19:24ticket. They just want to send a message

1:19:27that while they're sitting there cooling

1:19:28their heels, when they get out of jail

1:19:30after two or three days have passed cuz

1:19:32they released the warrant hold, that

1:19:33person's going to go pay that ticket.

1:19:35But we're we're holding that person.

1:19:37>> the freight. Right. We're we're we're

1:19:38we're paying the housing, we're paying

1:19:40for that penalty and the lion's share of

1:19:42the time, and you said it absolutely

1:19:43right. And even in low-level nonviolent

1:19:45crimes, they do not send anyone to get

1:19:48them. So so so it is a useless hold

1:19:52um in terms of

1:19:54uh delivering that person back in

1:19:56custody.

1:19:57>> Okay. Well, uh

1:19:58you've certainly given a lot of food for

1:20:00thought. I'm I'm taking notes. I'm going

1:20:02to reach out to some legislators and see

1:20:04what we can do to bring some relief

1:20:06using technology cuz I mean, the reality

1:20:08is

1:20:10having this work more expeditiously is

1:20:12not just about making the system

1:20:14function better for us, but also for the

1:20:16people that are in it because

1:20:17if you're going to have a parole

1:20:19revocation,

1:20:22it is easier for the person who's about

1:20:25to be revoked to actually begin serving

1:20:27their time versus hanging out in New

1:20:30Parish for several weeks, several

1:20:31months, would not necessarily guarantee

1:20:34they're going to get get get credit for

1:20:35the time where they're chilling in our

1:20:37in our courthouse. So, I appreciate it.

1:20:39Look forward to working with you on the

1:20:40solutions.

1:20:40>> Thank you, sir.

1:20:41>> Councilmember King.

1:20:42>> All right. Thank you, Councilmember

1:20:44Harris. Good morning, uh Mr. DA.

1:20:46>> Good morning, sir.

1:20:46>> You and all of our criminal justice

1:20:48committee, our criminal justice uh

1:20:49partners in the audience. I I have more

1:20:52of a um

1:20:54a comment or comments than than

1:20:56questions.

1:20:58Um I consider criminal justice, like you

1:21:01said it perfectly, it's not one person,

1:21:02it's not one

1:21:04department, it's everyone. The courts,

1:21:05the DA, the public defenders.

1:21:08I consider that to be up there with

1:21:09essential services, like trash pick up,

1:21:12uh grass cutting, public works, safe

1:21:14streets, uh street lights.

1:21:17Um

1:21:18and I believe the city has kind of

1:21:20gotten

1:21:21Well, I'mma say this.

1:21:22Uh most people want a safe city and a

1:21:24clean city. So, essential services. I

1:21:29believe that we kind of got them lulled

1:21:30to sleep by the great work done by you

1:21:33and the rest of our criminal justice

1:21:34partners because crime is no longer

1:21:36number one on our worry list.

1:21:39Um back in 2022, 2023, when the city was

1:21:43overrun with carjackers and and and the

1:21:45murder rate was high, that was number

1:21:47one on everyone's list. And and thanks

1:21:50to you and Hasselt everyone in office,

1:21:53everyone in the room, Sheriff, then

1:21:54Police Chief Shaun Woodruff, crime has

1:21:57had historic historical drops. And we've

1:22:00kind of gotten comfortable. And a lot of

1:22:02people are saying, "Well, hey, we

1:22:03shouldn't

1:22:05um

1:22:07give as much money to our criminal

1:22:10justice partners because

1:22:12look at the crime rate's dropping or

1:22:14it's not needed."

1:22:15Well, without

1:22:17your work,

1:22:19crime would not drop. Without being able

1:22:20to hire competent DAs, um you can't the

1:22:24the courts don't run as as as smoothly.

1:22:26Without being able to hire competent

1:22:28public defenders, people don't get the

1:22:30adequate representation they need.

1:22:31Without being able to hire

1:22:33um

1:22:35sheriff offices or or give them a pay

1:22:37increase, you can't keep people to keep

1:22:40the the prison safe uh or the jail safe.

1:22:43And

1:22:45meeting with Sheriff Woodford,

1:22:47you have hundreds of people who live in

1:22:48that prison 24 hours a day and who work

1:22:51in that prison 12 hours a day.

1:22:53So, they need to feel and and be safe.

1:22:56So, when I was asked by the media what

1:22:59what are my concerns or or my

1:23:02priorities, I made I mentioned of course

1:23:04trash and and and sanitations and and

1:23:07streets. But right up there, not below

1:23:10it, not above it, I think on equal

1:23:12playing field has to be criminal justice

1:23:14because you

1:23:16you can have the cleanest city, you can

1:23:18have all of the the zoning issues

1:23:20resolved. But you're you're you're not

1:23:21safe, you don't feel comfortable walking

1:23:22out your car to go pump gas,

1:23:24you can't live in the city. Um so, I

1:23:28just want you all to know that

1:23:30my priorities and my goals will be me to

1:23:34maybe not make you all whole because we

1:23:36have such a large deficit, that may not

1:23:38be realistic. Um I just want to be

1:23:40honest and transparent, but to make sure

1:23:43you all receive as much funding as

1:23:45possible. That's you, the public

1:23:47defenders, the sheriff's office,

1:23:49juvenile court, JJIC,

1:23:52uh Ms. Roman and her juvenile public

1:23:54defender team because with without that,

1:23:57the city will crumble. And and and

1:23:59Sheriff Woodford, if you can have these

1:24:01uh numbers ready, you you and Mr.

1:24:03Lumpkin, um DA, you said either pay for

1:24:06it now, basically I'll pay for it later.

1:24:07So, I want to know how much you said it

1:24:09before, Sheriff, how much does it cost

1:24:10to house a female inmate

1:24:13every day? I I think it's more than than

1:24:16than tuition at a state university. You

1:24:19can have those numbers for me when you

1:24:20come up.

1:24:21Um

1:24:22just so the public knows I'm going to

1:24:23stop talking but this is really

1:24:25passionate to me.

1:24:26If you don't have a properly funded DA's

1:24:28office

1:24:29people

1:24:33may be on the streets who don't deserve

1:24:35to be on the streets because you can't

1:24:36properly

1:24:38prosecute the case. You can't

1:24:39efficiently prosecute the case. If you

1:24:41don't have a properly funded public

1:24:43defender's office, you may have not may

1:24:46you will have overwhelmed public

1:24:47defenders. I remember talking to a

1:24:48public defender who said and I said he

1:24:50said it all the time he said I have a

1:24:51100

1:24:52I'm one public defender with 100 felony

1:24:54cases. Now you as a a world-renowned

1:24:57criminal defense attorney know it's

1:24:59almost physically impossible to

1:25:01represent 100 felony cases.

1:25:03And his words to me is someone some of

1:25:05these people are going to get screwed. I

1:25:06just can't do it all.

1:25:07But without a without a properly funded

1:25:09public defender's office, how can you

1:25:11hire

1:25:13qualified and competent public

1:25:14defenders?

1:25:16Um same for juvenile court, same for the

1:25:18juvenile public defenders,

1:25:21uh juvenile jail without a properly

1:25:23funded as much as possible sh um

1:25:27parish jail

1:25:32you're going to have a very unsafe

1:25:34prison or unsafe jail which will cause

1:25:36crime to rise in jail which will cause

1:25:38crime to rise in the streets because

1:25:39that is all connected. So I I still like

1:25:41to say it's very important that we make

1:25:45our criminal justice system as whole as

1:25:48possible because it's right up there

1:25:50with essential services like

1:25:52grass cutting, sanitations, street

1:25:55lights, and and and pothole repairs. And

1:25:58I know a lot of people don't want to

1:25:59hear that

1:26:01but it's true. And I would ask anyone

1:26:03who don't who doesn't believe that to

1:26:05spend a day in your office, spend a day

1:26:06in the sheriff's office, spend a day in

1:26:07the public defender's

1:26:09or the juvenile court and just see how

1:26:11uh imperative it is to have a properly

1:26:16competent funded criminal justice

1:26:18system, not just one link in the chain,

1:26:21but the entire chain has to be as strong

1:26:23as possible.

1:26:24So, that's my That's my comments for

1:26:26that. And my commitment to you and

1:26:27everyone in here is to

1:26:29advocate as much as possible

1:26:31to not make you whole.

1:26:34Quite frankly, I'm not sure that's

1:26:36That's financially possible, but to make

1:26:38you as whole as possible.

1:26:41>> Thank you, Councilmember King. I would

1:26:42just say, um,

1:26:44you know,

1:26:46to anybody who thinks

1:26:48crime is down, we can wave the flag, we

1:26:51did it,

1:26:53right? It's It's It's like It's

1:26:54literally like looking behind you in a

1:26:56track race.

1:26:57You You will trip.

1:26:59Um, and, uh,

1:27:01going from the murder capital of the

1:27:04country to where where we are now was

1:27:08It's It's in the In the speed with which

1:27:10we did it was a pretty remarkable thing.

1:27:12But But New Orleans is a destination

1:27:14city,

1:27:15right? We We We live and die on how many

1:27:19people we can convince to come here to

1:27:22have a good time, to work, to have a

1:27:24convention, to what to do whatever. So,

1:27:28when you start talking about getting out

1:27:31of the top 10 most dangerous places,

1:27:35a destination city has to talk about

1:27:37that more differently. We're not Topeka.

1:27:39We're not Albuquerque.

1:27:41If we can go and say we're no longer

1:27:44part of

1:27:45part of the top 10, we're out of the top

1:27:4720,

1:27:48and not only will we still be the most

1:27:51remarkable, most unique, most culturally

1:27:54diverse city in this country, but if we

1:27:58can all start also start saying that

1:28:00we're also the safest,

1:28:03I mean, I think we need to be really

1:28:04aspirational

1:28:06with our goals. We've shown what we can

1:28:07do.

1:28:08So, we can continue to drive those

1:28:10numbers down even lower.

1:28:13I mean, if you talk to Walt Leger, if

1:28:15you talk to folks at the Convention

1:28:18Center, they they will tell you that

1:28:20their numbers are up because our numbers

1:28:23are down, right? And so, we continue to

1:28:26drive those numbers down. I was at a

1:28:28wedding at the Sculpture Garden with

1:28:31about 300 New Yorkers, all singing our

1:28:35talking bad about New York, but singing

1:28:37the praises of New Orleans because of

1:28:40the story we have to tell. So, we can

1:28:43flatline, we can backslide, or we

1:28:46continue to improve, and I really think

1:28:48it'd be a really remarkable sto- story

1:28:51to give to Gayle Benson, to give to Walt

1:28:53Leger, to give to Convention Center, to

1:28:56talk about how much we're continuing to

1:28:59drive crime down because we're investing

1:29:01in it.

1:29:01>> Well, also, money money doesn't follow

1:29:04chaos. So, those conventions, they don't

1:29:06come to the city. They plan out years in

1:29:08advance, so they're not coming to the

1:29:10city when they see the headlines

1:29:12are filled with uh with with crime

1:29:15stories. Same as residents. People don't

1:29:17move to unsafe city. They they leave a

1:29:20city that's not safe. So, we either need

1:29:21to pay for it now and invest in our

1:29:23criminal justice partners and and

1:29:25attract those businesses, attract those

1:29:27conventions, and more importantly,

1:29:29attract those families who are our

1:29:30residents, or we can say,

1:29:34let's put it somewhere else

1:29:36for whatever reason, and watch the

1:29:38residents, the numbers, the populations

1:29:40continue to drop, watch the the

1:29:42businesses leave, and and watch the

1:29:44conventions say, "Yeah, we may just want

1:29:46to go to Atlanta. We may just want to go

1:29:47to

1:29:48>> keeping families here has to be top of

1:29:50mind.

1:29:51>> Absolutely.

1:29:52Absolutely. So, I I'm I'm done talking,

1:29:55uh but I appreciate your work and look

1:29:57forward to working with you and all of

1:29:58our our criminal justice partners to

1:29:59make our city safe as possible.

1:30:01>> Thank you, sir.

1:30:04>> All right. Um I would ask you to do the

1:30:06same thing that asked the criminal court

1:30:08judges, which is just pick up the

1:30:09pencil, see if there's any cuts that can

1:30:11be made strategically. I know you guys

1:30:13are at like

1:30:14the limit of cuts, but if there are more

1:30:16that can be made, then maybe we can find

1:30:18some money somewhere.

1:30:19>> You know, I I was talking to a couple

1:30:21lawyers the other day about

1:30:23um, you know, you look really healthy,

1:30:24maybe we can start selling some blood

1:30:25plasma, some other things.

1:30:27>> about it all the time, too.

1:30:28>> Whatever it takes, I'm willing to do it.

1:30:29If I could cut my hair and donate it, I

1:30:32would, but we're looking at we're

1:30:34looking at every rock.

1:30:35>> I know, it's a fire sale everywhere. So,

1:30:37thank you. Thank you, Mr. DA. Thank you.

1:30:39>> Thank you, Madam Chair.

1:30:41>> All righty, up next is the Sheriff's

1:30:42Office.

1:31:05>> I'm sorry.

1:31:06>> Okay, good.

1:31:14>> Which one?

1:31:14>> Yeah, the

1:31:18>> Huh?

1:31:23>> This is it, right here.

1:31:32>> I got it.

1:31:34>> Left to right.

1:31:42>> He's doing the slides.

1:31:44>> Oh, what was this one?

1:31:45>> Okay.

1:31:45>> You got it.

1:31:47>> Okay.

1:31:53>> Yeah, we need another chair.

1:31:57They got one over there.

1:32:01Can I scoot over?

1:32:03Uh, excuse me.

1:32:31>> Good morning.

1:32:32>> Good morning.

1:32:40Good morning council members and

1:32:42everyone in attendance today.

1:32:45Thank you for the opportunity to make

1:32:47this presentation today as

1:32:48[clears throat]

1:32:49we look forward uh

1:32:51to our productive exchange.

1:32:54Uh first, let me introduce my team.

1:32:57I have um my chief deputy

1:33:00Murphy Paul,

1:33:02my chief administrative officer Keith

1:33:04Lampkin, my chief financial officer

1:33:06Shawn Bruno,

1:33:08um director of finance Elizabeth Boyer,

1:33:11and also um director of our compliance

1:33:15division Dr. Ashley Burns.

1:33:17And And [clears throat] also in the

1:33:18audience we have um our interim war-

1:33:21warden Jason Kent, Chief Christopher

1:33:24Goodly, Colonel Mark Delpit, and Colonel

1:33:27Joe Blow, as well as I want to

1:33:29acknowledge and um say that uh there are

1:33:32several other members from our agency in

1:33:35the audience and I did that um

1:33:39to make sure that the people of our

1:33:41agency understand why we may have to

1:33:44make cuts, understand why why positions

1:33:47may be reduced. So, I invited them here

1:33:50to make sure that they understand the

1:33:52budget process and they can pass that on

1:33:55to the people who were for them and with

1:33:58them.

1:34:00I also want to acknowledge that every

1:34:03budget season

1:34:05is critical for every organization, and

1:34:07that is especially true when it comes to

1:34:09public safety agencies.

1:34:11But this year for the Orleans Parish

1:34:13Sheriff's Office is probably the most

1:34:16critical in recent years

1:34:19for two very important reasons.

1:34:22First, our organization has experienced

1:34:25significant challenges in the last 2

1:34:27years.

1:34:29There has been a financial strain on the

1:34:31organization that has affected our

1:34:33ability to maintain the infrastructure

1:34:36and basic constitutional operations of

1:34:38our agency.

1:34:40We also recognize that public trust must

1:34:42be earned through consistent

1:34:44performance, transparency, and

1:34:46accountability.

1:34:48And the other thing that sets this year

1:34:50apart

1:34:51is that 2027 is a culmination of decades

1:34:55of preparation to implement massive

1:34:57institutional reforms and revolutionize

1:35:01the way the Orleans Parish Sheriff's

1:35:02Office has operated up to this point.

1:35:06We are at a point

1:35:09an important point

1:35:11in the federal consent judgment that

1:35:13will dictate how much longer the

1:35:15Sheriff's Office and the city remain

1:35:17under federal oversight with an

1:35:19obligation to devote significant

1:35:21resources to monitor.

1:35:24The largest single mandate of the

1:35:25federal consent judgment centers on

1:35:28health care,

1:35:29the quality and the provision of medical

1:35:31services to the population of the people

1:35:34in our custody.

1:35:36There's no way for us to deliver

1:35:39on that requirement and reach

1:35:41substantial compliance under the consent

1:35:43judgment unless we are able to

1:35:45successfully open and operate the new

1:35:49Phase III facility that will house the

1:35:51acute and subacute populations.

1:35:54That building is weeks away from

1:35:56completion and being turned over to the

1:35:58city and OPSB.

1:36:00But make no mistake.

1:36:02There's still significant work to do

1:36:04before we can feel confident the

1:36:06building is ready to be open, staffed,

1:36:08and suitable to house those detained

1:36:11with special medical needs.

1:36:14We want to be clear that we understand

1:36:17that this is a difficult time for

1:36:20everyone, the city included.

1:36:22But we know that the stakes are simply

1:36:25too high

1:36:26in this moment for OPSB to absorb absorb

1:36:29additional budget cuts that will lead

1:36:34to a restriction of critical services.

1:36:37Thanks again for the opportunity to

1:36:39present.

1:36:40And now we can move on to our slides.

1:36:45Our goals for 2026 revolved around

1:36:48repairs and upgrades to the degrading

1:36:50infrastructure of our facilities,

1:36:53improving safety for our staff and the

1:36:55people in our care, and building a

1:36:58culture of consistent policy compliance

1:37:01to bring stability to our agency and get

1:37:04us closer to meeting the mandates of the

1:37:06consent judgment.

1:37:08We took office in May, which meant we

1:37:10took on some projects that were

1:37:12incomplete and in progress.

1:37:15But we also came out of the transition

1:37:17with a clear vision for the office with

1:37:20a road map for success.

1:37:23We immediately prioritized security with

1:37:26expanded proactive security sweeps.

1:37:29In our second full week,

1:37:32we partnered with DOC to conduct a

1:37:34facility-wide sweep of OJC. We were

1:37:37assisted by roughly 120 DOC employees.

1:37:42We increased drug and contraband

1:37:44enforcement and reestablished

1:37:46intelligence operations within our

1:37:48investigative services bureau.

1:37:50Our detectives are currently in training

1:37:52on the use of new tools that will allow

1:37:55us to detect and stop the flow of

1:37:58harmful drugs and weapons inside our

1:38:00facility.

1:38:02I created the security and

1:38:03accountability council with

1:38:05representatives from multiple

1:38:07disciplines

1:38:08share their collective that share their

1:38:11collective expertise within our team.

1:38:15And I prioritize repairs that directly

1:38:18impact safety. We are creating a safer

1:38:21facility every day.

1:38:24>> [clears throat]

1:38:24>> Next slide.

1:38:26After taking my oath of office, we came

1:38:29back to the office the same afternoon

1:38:31for a meeting with the Louisiana

1:38:33legislative auditor to review their

1:38:35findings from the several months prior

1:38:38to our taking office.

1:38:41We immediately began planning to put our

1:38:43financial controls in place.

1:38:46That same day, I issued an executive

1:38:48order establishing guidelines to promote

1:38:51agency-wide budget

1:38:53stabi- stabilization and cost controls.

1:38:57This order also initiated a review of

1:39:00every existing contract.

1:39:03As a result, we've significantly reduced

1:39:05spending and we are preparing to reissue

1:39:08bids for all major agency service

1:39:11contracts.

1:39:12We've continued discussions with the

1:39:14with city city leadership about

1:39:17transitioning to the brass financial

1:39:19management system as we work out the

1:39:21details of the necessary cost to stand

1:39:24up brass or a similar system and the

1:39:27process to mitigate historical data,

1:39:30we've added all contracts we could find

1:39:33to the city website and it's under

1:39:35contracts.nola.gov

1:39:38for the benefit of city leaders and the

1:39:40public.

1:39:42We fully

1:39:44embrace the responsibility of the

1:39:46consent decree upon entering office. We

1:39:49started this administration by

1:39:51strengthening compliance leadership,

1:39:53hired an experienced chief compliance

1:39:56officer, and we built a road map to

1:39:59compliance based on best practices.

1:40:02We've entered

1:40:03We've entered office on an aggressive

1:40:05timeline with our first report response

1:40:08due within weeks of taking office.

1:40:11We've been in frequent communications

1:40:13with the judges, monitors, plaintiffs,

1:40:15and the Department of Justice since

1:40:17taking office.

1:40:19We've done this to get the historical

1:40:21context to the judgment and better

1:40:24understand everyone's stake in the

1:40:26proceedings. We've also granted them

1:40:29full access to the Beacon jail

1:40:31management system so that they have

1:40:33real-time review of our operations.

1:40:37We're also working to institutionalize

1:40:39reforms that will last beyond the

1:40:41consent judgment. We're engaging

1:40:43reputable accreditation bodies to

1:40:46support in our mission to full

1:40:48compliance.

1:40:50The prior administration engaged ACA to

1:40:53get basic jail standard accreditation.

1:40:56We're now well on our way to full ACA

1:41:00accreditation. The purpose is to make

1:41:02these improvements durable and not

1:41:05simply to complete a checklist.

1:41:08So,

1:41:12we took office with lots of uncertainty

1:41:15about our manpower.

1:41:17And we had to work fast to determine

1:41:20what positions were absolutely necessary

1:41:23and which ones we could do without.

1:41:26There's a natural rate of attrition with

1:41:28all transitions, but we had to look for

1:41:30for ways to balance the budget in the

1:41:32midst of a major deficit.

1:41:36As a public safety agency with major

1:41:38responsibilities to the people of New

1:41:40Orleans,

1:41:41there's only so much

1:41:43you can cut before the impacts are felt

1:41:45in our neighborhoods.

1:41:47Every day,

1:41:48we have worked hard. We we have

1:41:51hard-working men and women who get up

1:41:54and leave their families to come and

1:41:56uphold the values of this organization.

1:41:58Our deputies perform one of the hardest

1:42:01jobs in public service.

1:42:03>> [clears throat]

1:42:03>> They work holidays, nights, and weekends

1:42:05under stressful conditions. They respond

1:42:08to emergencies and intervene in violent

1:42:10incidents.

1:42:12They are sometimes assaulted and

1:42:13disrespected, but they maintain order

1:42:16and show respect for the oaths that they

1:42:18have all taken.

1:42:20We will continue fighting for the men

1:42:23and women of this agency until they can

1:42:25all feel pride and assure and assurance

1:42:29in their decisions to serve.

1:42:31At the same time, we are conducting

1:42:33research to be certain we are using the

1:42:36taxpayers' money as efficiently and

1:42:39effectively as possible.

1:42:41We have engaged firms it experienced in

1:42:44conducting staffing studies to examine

1:42:46staffing levels across various divisions

1:42:49within OPSO.

1:42:51Specifically, we want to establish a

1:42:53data-driven foundation of the personnel

1:42:57required to safely and effectively

1:42:59operate the Orleans Justice Center Phase

1:43:023 expansion and the agency as a whole.

1:43:06This assessment would help identify the

1:43:08number of deputies, supervisory

1:43:11personnel, and administrative staff

1:43:13needed to support facility operations

1:43:16and the broader responsibilities of the

1:43:18office.

1:43:19Establishing that baseline is an

1:43:21important step toward developing a

1:43:23sustainable operation and budgetary

1:43:26plan.

1:43:27I will It would also help us better

1:43:29understand our staffing needs, identify

1:43:32our resource gaps, and build a stronger

1:43:34foundation for future discussions about

1:43:37recruitment, retention, and deputy

1:43:39compensation.

1:43:41The projections provided in our slides

1:43:44are based on our current staffing levels

1:43:46using the direct supervision model.

1:43:49We have worked to

1:43:51fill every vacancy in the existing

1:43:54facility, and we are vetting new

1:43:56recruits weekly to put them on the path

1:43:58to joining our team.

1:44:01With phase three opening in the near

1:44:04future,

1:44:05we know we need to add an additional 27

1:44:09deputies to supply the staff who will be

1:44:11moving into the new building from the

1:44:13temporary detention center.

1:44:16Moving into the new medical building is

1:44:18a huge step for OPSO,

1:44:21our city, and the federal consent

1:44:23judgment. But, there are several things

1:44:26that must fall in place before we can

1:44:28confidently commit to the transition.

1:44:31Our goals for 2027 largely revolve

1:44:34around what it will take to make the

1:44:36transition and continue to grow this

1:44:39organization.

1:44:46We have operated well above the

1:44:49city-mandated population cap for much of

1:44:522026 with an average inmate count of

1:44:551,420.

1:44:57That number has decreased for us to That

1:45:00number has to decrease for us to have

1:45:03the manpower and the space to

1:45:04accommodate the people in our care.

1:45:07In order to achieve the level of

1:45:08reduction we will need, it will take a

1:45:11collaborative effort from the public

1:45:13safety ecosystem as a whole.

1:45:17We've been meeting with partners and

1:45:19advocates since taking office

1:45:21and active discussions with courts, the

1:45:24clerk, prosecutors, defense attorneys,

1:45:28arresting agencies such as NOPD and LSP.

1:45:32Strategies [clears throat]

1:45:33include identifying those who are not

1:45:37supposed to be in our custody, such as

1:45:39sentenced defendants awaiting transfer

1:45:41to DOC facilities, and individuals who

1:45:44simply need to have a court date set to

1:45:47resolve their matters.

1:45:49Arresting agencies like NOPD and LSP

1:45:52issuing more summonses for low-level

1:45:55non-violent misdemeanors, or some people

1:45:58never

1:45:59So, some people never have to take up a

1:46:02bed jail a jail bed.

1:46:04Faster releases for low-level

1:46:06non-violent crimes where some someone is

1:46:09vetted, processed, and released within

1:46:12the next day for their court date.

1:46:15Expedited case processing through

1:46:17coordination between ADAs and city

1:46:20attorneys, and the defense counsel where

1:46:22appropriate.

1:46:24Some people sit in jail for months only

1:46:26to receive credit for time served or

1:46:29have their cases dismissed. We're

1:46:31working with partners to identify those

1:46:33who may fit those categories for

1:46:36expedited consideration.

1:46:38We also met with probation and parole

1:46:40recently to ask for coordination between

1:46:42probation and parole and courts to get

1:46:45revocation hearings set faster.

1:46:48We are open to all suggestions when it

1:46:50comes to achieving a more manageable

1:46:52population.

1:46:56A related change that will help us

1:46:57better use the limited space we have is

1:47:00transferring youthful offenders back to

1:47:03JJIC.

1:47:06Deputy Mayor Harrison and Director

1:47:08Williams at the Juvenile Justice

1:47:10Intervention Center

1:47:11have been great partners in finding a

1:47:14way to safely accommodate the small

1:47:16number of youthful offenders in our

1:47:18custody.

1:47:19We currently have about 18 young people

1:47:21in our facility.

1:47:23They cannot be housed with any adult

1:47:27defendants.

1:47:28Therefore, we have to devote an entire

1:47:3160-person cell block to this small group

1:47:35of juveniles.

1:47:37Not only is there a good amount of

1:47:39wasted space that could

1:47:42that could relieve overcrowding in other

1:47:44areas of the facility, but the adult

1:47:46facility is not the most conducive to

1:47:49the juveniles' needs.

1:47:51We have an agreement in principle to

1:47:53move the young people, but there are a

1:47:56few details to work out such as medical

1:47:58care and food services.

1:48:02We look forward to any questions the

1:48:04members have regarding our proposal, but

1:48:07I want the public to understand a couple

1:48:09of things.

1:48:11You will see a request for an increase

1:48:13in our budget. This increase has nothing

1:48:16to do with inflating our budget with

1:48:18unneeded positions and high salaries or

1:48:21adding a bunch of new services. These

1:48:23numbers represent the basic needs of

1:48:26this organization to meet our

1:48:28constitutional obligations, which

1:48:30includes staffing the new phase three

1:48:32facility.

1:48:34It would be a disservice to my office

1:48:37and the city to not

1:48:39correctly forecast the organizational

1:48:41needs.

1:48:43We cannot perform our constitutional

1:48:44duties and pay the people we rely on if

1:48:48we don't have funding to do so.

1:48:51This agency sustained major cuts in the

1:48:54last budget season.

1:48:56We were also put behind the eight ball

1:48:58because, unlike my other elected

1:49:01colleagues, my administration took

1:49:03office in the middle of the year.

1:49:05That meant

1:49:07we inherited a lack of resources and we

1:49:10were powerless to take any action to

1:49:12reduce spending and mitigate losses in

1:49:15the first half of the year.

1:49:17I have continued to work with my

1:49:18leadership team to aggressively pursue

1:49:21any and all funding from all sources to

1:49:24help us make up for the debt that we

1:49:27inherited.

1:49:29Some dating back as far as 20 the 2024

1:49:33fiscal year and digging out of the

1:49:36deficit we find ourselves in.

1:49:38Grant funds are scarce and many

1:49:40opportunities previously available to

1:49:43this agency

1:49:45are no longer available.

1:49:47But we are committed to exploring all

1:49:49possible funding streams.

1:49:51We are excited for the opportunity to

1:49:54take over from the beginning of a fresh

1:49:57fiscal year and we look forward to

1:49:59working collaboratively with this

1:50:01council and all partners to stabilize

1:50:04this agency.

1:50:05Thank you.

1:50:07>> Thank you. I have quite a few questions,

1:50:10so I'll go first.

1:50:12From your slides, it looks like you're

1:50:13seeking an additional $17 million. Is

1:50:16that correct?

1:50:18>> An additional what? I'm sorry.

1:50:19>> $17 million.

1:50:20>> Is it thought it was

1:50:2227? That that also includes the medical

1:50:24contract.

1:50:25>> contract. I do have questions.

1:50:26>> So it's more like

1:50:28for

1:50:28without the medical contract, it's more

1:50:30like 10, right? Correct. Am I correct?

1:50:32>> Okay. And on the medical contract, I

1:50:35guess I'll just go there now.

1:50:37One of my understandings is that the

1:50:39current contract, if you're above a

1:50:41certain amount, if you're above 1,200,

1:50:44then they

1:50:45charge you for additional additional

1:50:47services. Is that correct?

1:50:49>> Yes.

1:50:49>> Do we have an estimate of how much we're

1:50:51being over overcharged or charged above

1:50:54the flat rate?

1:50:56>> We don't right now, but it we'll get

1:50:58that information to you.

1:50:59>> Okay. Can you get that for me? Because I

1:51:00mean, this is this goes back to the fact

1:51:02of reducing the jail population down

1:51:04back to where it needs to be and or

1:51:06renegotiating that contract so that

1:51:08we're not paying additional amounts if

1:51:09we go over

1:51:11a specific population.

1:51:12>> Yes.

1:51:13>> Do you know when that contract is up?

1:51:15>> Uh June.

1:51:16>> Okay, good.

1:51:17>> June of

1:51:182027.

1:51:20>> And are we [clears throat] putting out

1:51:20an RFP?

1:51:22>> Yes.

1:51:23>> What is the status of that?

1:51:25>> Well, the the CEO's office is has

1:51:27already they're working with us right

1:51:28now to put out an RFI

1:51:30so we can know

1:51:31who has the present ability to deliver

1:51:33the service and that the RFP will will

1:51:35soon follow.

1:51:36>> Okay, I also saw saw some information on

1:51:40provision of food and Sheriff Ian I

1:51:42talked about it when I did my visit. Do

1:51:44we have any update on getting rid of the

1:51:46current food service and doing something

1:51:48in house? Do we have a cost benefit of

1:51:50that?

1:51:51>> We have

1:51:53uh

1:51:54explored every option that we have taken

1:51:56it in house. Looking at a new

1:51:59food vendor. All of those different

1:52:02things. So what we're going to do is put

1:52:03an RFP out just like all our all our

1:52:06major stuff we're putting back out for

1:52:09bid because we think several of them are

1:52:11costly and we can have some cost savings

1:52:13there. Exactly how much that'll be I

1:52:16just don't know right now until we put

1:52:18that information out.

1:52:20>> I appreciate that. I think the current

1:52:22food contract is like 2.9 million and

1:52:25for the level of food that

1:52:27the folks there are getting it it seems

1:52:29high.

1:52:30>> It is.

1:52:31>> Okay.

1:52:32I am seeing on template number three

1:52:35that there is a

1:52:37a

1:52:38there's money in the reserve accounts

1:52:41about 8.23

1:52:43million dollars.

1:52:45Can you talk me through why some of this

1:52:47is restricted and or the use of that

1:52:50money going forward?

1:52:52>> Well, if you look at it the first

1:52:55the opioid fund it's restricted. You

1:52:57know, that [clears throat] those funds

1:52:58are restricted to

1:53:00only fund projects that

1:53:03or to it could be

1:53:06some type of prevention. There are a

1:53:08list of things that we reached out to

1:53:10the LSA and asked them what their

1:53:14what the other sheriff's office have

1:53:16been using their opioid funds for cuz of

1:53:18course because it is restricted funding

1:53:21we want to make sure that we're using

1:53:22that money to do the right thing and and

1:53:24that could be

1:53:25security measure measures that we can

1:53:28use that funding for

1:53:30some infrastructure projects that we can

1:53:32use it for that of course make sure that

1:53:36that opioid the opioids that have been

1:53:38coming into in to the facility stop. So

1:53:41you can use it a number of different

1:53:42ways. It can be for different programs

1:53:44for those who are or have some type of

1:53:47substance abuse

1:53:49treatment that they need. So it's a

1:53:50number of different things but we're

1:53:52working along with the LSA to make sure

1:53:55that we are spending

1:53:57those funds properly.

1:53:59Uh

1:54:00the capital projects of course that is

1:54:03definitely restricted funds and we're

1:54:06using we're going to use those funds of

1:54:09course to make sure that we're

1:54:10continuing to shore up this facility and

1:54:13that's OJC and that's getting more new

1:54:16lighting

1:54:17making sure we do floors one and two

1:54:19make sure we change the the hinges and

1:54:22door locks there. So all that money is

1:54:24really accounted for.

1:54:27>> Okay and then that service there's

1:54:29I know what that is and then there's

1:54:30another 2025 capital projects.

1:54:33>> Mhm.

1:54:34>> Um do you know what that's for?

1:54:36>> That's the money from the bank

1:54:38commission.

1:54:39>> Okay.

1:54:40>> Um and those are some of the funds that

1:54:41we're going to use to do those upgrades

1:54:43inside

1:54:45OJC.

1:54:47Many things we have plumbing problems

1:54:49you name it that that stuff all those

1:54:52things are going to be used to do the

1:54:53upgrades inside of OJC that need to be

1:54:56done and we probably that that amount is

1:54:59still not enough not what we need

1:55:01um, to make sure that those projects are

1:55:04are are completed.

1:55:05>> I did see a plumbing grant from the

1:55:07state as well, so I think it's what,

1:55:09around uh,

1:55:10500k?

1:55:11>> Yes, that was we requested that in order

1:55:15to repair or replace our

1:55:18um, what they call the

1:55:19sewer grinder.

1:55:20>> Right.

1:55:21>> So, and that's to grind up anything that

1:55:22comes out through this from inside the

1:55:25jail to the sewer to make sure that is

1:55:28repaired. It's in need of repair or

1:55:29replacement.

1:55:31>> The other

1:55:31>> waiting on those funds.

1:55:32>> The other thing that struck me when I

1:55:34did the visit was exactly what you were

1:55:36talking about with the

1:55:37juvenile offenders taking up a entire

1:55:40block, meanwhile there's another block

1:55:42with like pallets on the ground.

1:55:44>> It's correct.

1:55:45>> Um, so do we know the timing of figuring

1:55:47out the food and the details of the

1:55:50transfer to JJIC?

1:55:52>> We are

1:55:54reaching trying to reach a goal of

1:55:56January 1 to move those

1:56:00juveniles back to JJIC. We're just

1:56:03making sure that they're going to get

1:56:06the proper medical care or do we have to

1:56:08send Wexford over to care for those for

1:56:11[clears throat] those juveniles or are

1:56:12we going to use the current medical

1:56:15provider that they have at JJIC? And

1:56:17also making sure they that they attend

1:56:19school. So, working those details out,

1:56:22working

1:56:23the

1:56:24of course security we're going to we

1:56:25have to provide security and keeping

1:56:27them segregated as far as housing is

1:56:30concerned from the other juveniles at

1:56:31the facility, but according to um,

1:56:35Deputy Mayor Harrison [clears throat]

1:56:37and

1:56:38Dushawn Williams at JJIC, we're all

1:56:41looking at a January 1 transfer.

1:56:44>> Okay, that will impact either your

1:56:46budget or JJIC's budget. So, I guess we

1:56:49need to get the details on that sooner

1:56:51rather than later of the total cost and

1:56:54how that works out.

1:56:55>> Mhm.

1:56:57>> Um, on your staffing you gave us actual

1:57:01current FTEs

1:57:03on your side deck. Do you have the

1:57:05numbers of what you would want

1:57:09as far as staffing up?

1:57:12>> Currently you we did I did speak about

1:57:14it when I was talking. We need at least

1:57:17to hire 27 um people on our staff to

1:57:21make sure that when we do the transition

1:57:24from TDJC and TMH to have enough people

1:57:27to staff phase three. So absolutely um

1:57:30right off um those 27 folks.

1:57:33>> But beyond that 27 do you need any more

1:57:35folks?

1:57:36>> We do. We I mean we're talking about um

1:57:39uh

1:57:40we want optimal or at least um you know

1:57:43not the middle um minimum staff. We want

1:57:46at least right in the middle adequate.

1:57:48And so um with that we need to continue

1:57:51with our recruitment um effort and also

1:57:54our retention effort and keeping some

1:57:56folks and also recruiting some new folks

1:57:59because our our attrition rate is high.

1:58:01You know um and so we may hire 10 people

1:58:05and 12 people uh will resign or some may

1:58:08even be terminated. So we are trying to

1:58:11reduce um uh

1:58:13people from leaving our agency and

1:58:15actually making this a career but we

1:58:17were also continuing our hiring effort

1:58:20so we can make sure that we have

1:58:21adequate staff um in OJC and also in

1:58:24phase three.

1:58:25>> Okay.

1:58:26Um I do have a question about the jail

1:58:28population. I had a note that it was at

1:58:301474 but you're saying it currently is

1:58:33at 1420.

1:58:34>> 1430. Yeah today as of today this

1:58:37morning 1430.

1:58:38>> Okay and the max is supposed to be at

1:58:391250 according to what we implemented or

1:58:43prior council implemented.

1:58:44>> Yes.

1:58:45>> Do we know how many uh

1:58:47individuals are awaiting DOC transfers?

1:58:51>> I I have

1:58:53254

1:58:56who

1:58:57have been and it's a combination of

1:59:00people who have been revoked on parole

1:59:03or waiting a hearing and also have

1:59:07gotten their time has not been

1:59:10calculated and they're waiting and the

1:59:13122

1:59:15that have actually been revoked and

1:59:17that's all in that 254

1:59:20those DOC inmates probation and parole

1:59:23all of those things are in that 254.

1:59:26>> Okay.

1:59:27And for this some of the DOC inmates or

1:59:30I guess the DOC inmates that are waiting

1:59:32transfer the DOC provides an amount of

1:59:34money

1:59:35for them, right?

1:59:36>> Yes.

1:59:37>> But it's not enough to cover the actual

1:59:39cost of them.

1:59:40>> No. And and let me make a little

1:59:42correction. 122

1:59:44have

1:59:46waiting just to be transferred. They

1:59:47have gotten their time or have been

1:59:49revoked or all of those things but the

1:59:52total that total number of folks is 254

1:59:55and you're correct. We get approximately

1:59:58$29 per inmate.

2:00:01DOC inmate but really the cost

2:00:05to just fund someone who is in general

2:00:08population is $160

2:00:11a day and for our special populations

2:00:14whether be females or mental health or

2:00:18those who are in those special popular

2:00:20juveniles who are

2:00:22a part of the population it costs

2:00:25about $250

2:00:27a day.

2:00:29>> Do you know how many of those 122 are

2:00:32women?

2:00:34>> Not offhand but I can give you that

2:00:36information.

2:00:36>> And what is the what's the hold up with

2:00:38DOC in getting these people out?

2:00:41>> Just like we you know just like us and

2:00:44other parishes um the state it's it's a

2:00:47room you know, it's the beds. Um they

2:00:49they don't have the um the capacity um

2:00:53to take on those inmates, so they remain

2:00:55in our custody. But, I just really want

2:00:57to be very clear about this. If we do

2:00:59not bring down the jail population, it's

2:01:02going to be very difficult for us to

2:01:05close the temporary detention center and

2:01:07move into phase three.

2:01:09>> Yep. I understand.

2:01:11Um all right, I'm going to ask a JP

2:01:14question. Are we uh moving to brass uh

2:01:17integration?

2:01:19>> We have um met with um the CAO's office

2:01:23and we are ready, but it of course

2:01:26there's a cost to those things. You

2:01:27know, they're in

2:01:29got to figure out who's going to incur

2:01:30the cost of us going into something like

2:01:33a brass, but we're also um open to the

2:01:36idea of going into having a system that

2:01:39is similar um to brass where you can see

2:01:42uh the same things that you would see in

2:01:43brass. And right now because we they

2:01:45haven't um uh proceeded with the

2:01:48implementation of all of our things

2:01:50going into brass, what we've done to

2:01:52remain transparent and um fully in it uh

2:01:56full transparency and integrity about

2:01:59what we're doing as far as contracts are

2:02:01concerned, we've put those up on the um

2:02:04city website. So, all the contracts that

2:02:06we could find, we actually put them up

2:02:09on the city's website for you to see and

2:02:11for the public to see.

2:02:12>> Okay. I'm going to turn to the temporary

2:02:15detention center. There has been some

2:02:17conversation about retrofitting it into

2:02:20a new low-barrier shelter for our our

2:02:23unhoused people. Um I know that Allison

2:02:26uh took a look at it and has some

2:02:28pictures of it. I want to come see it as

2:02:30well.

2:02:31Um

2:02:32but, it belongs to FEMA, right? It is

2:02:35owned by FEMA.

2:02:36>> Yes, and uh

2:02:38what we would have to do is make an

2:02:40agreement with Fe- with FEMA. Yes, we'll

2:02:43we'll we're going to take it. We don't

2:02:44want you to tear it down. But if that

2:02:46exchange happens and they release the

2:02:48building to us,

2:02:50then we we could never, if something

2:02:53happens to the building, we had some

2:02:55uh hurricane event or some type of

2:02:56weather event that destroyed the

2:02:58building some way or we would have to

2:03:01repair it in some way, we would incur

2:03:03all the cost and we would not be able to

2:03:05go to FEMA and ask them to help us

2:03:08repair that that particular

2:03:10>> facility.

2:03:10>> I see what you're saying. So, if it got

2:03:12destroyed or

2:03:14um

2:03:16when it needed to be repaired, it would

2:03:17be on us.

2:03:18>> Mhm.

2:03:18>> Okay.

2:03:19Uh

2:03:20finally,

2:03:22uh

2:03:22what was my last question? I'll I'll

2:03:24I'll turn it over. Who has questions?

2:03:28All right. Councilmember Morales.

2:03:30>> Uh thank you. Uh

2:03:32thanks for being here today, Sheriff. I

2:03:34just want to go real quick, so uh not to

2:03:37rehash, we toured the phase three

2:03:39facility yesterday with Judge Affric.

2:03:41And as you stated previously, and I say

2:03:44this at the bare minimum, um the judge

2:03:47expressed

2:03:49the necessity that the phase three

2:03:52facility be fully staffed at a minimum

2:03:55of 27 people.

2:03:57>> Mhm.

2:03:57>> And we were in that same conversation.

2:04:02Sometimes you have to kind of remind the

2:04:04public that when a federal judge says,

2:04:06"I think this facility needs 27 people,"

2:04:10it is initially a suggestion,

2:04:13but I think we are both of the opinion

2:04:15that if we don't follow the suggestion,

2:04:17it could later become an order, correct?

2:04:19>> Well, yeah, like we said, 27 additional

2:04:22people.

2:04:23>> Right.

2:04:23>> You know, in a perfect world, what would

2:04:25happen is we'd open this building,

2:04:28transfer our entire staff from TDC and

2:04:31TMH over to secure phase the phase three

2:04:37Which leaves 27 positions open that need

2:04:41to be filled in order to properly secure

2:04:44and run this building. So, that's where

2:04:46that 27 comes

2:04:47>> I'm I'm not doubting the number. What

2:04:49I'm Keith knows where I'm going with

2:04:50this. What I'm saying is that right now

2:04:51the judge is saying this is a

2:04:53suggestion.

2:04:55But

2:04:56as has been seen throughout this

2:04:58experience with Judge Africk

2:05:00it's a suggestion until we don't do it

2:05:03and then he comes back and says you're

2:05:04going to put 27 positions in the

2:05:06sheriff's office to make sure that

2:05:09the new facility is fully staffed. So,

2:05:11the point I'm simply making is that

2:05:13you're requesting 27, but if we don't

2:05:16provide 27, we may end up providing 27

2:05:19anyway when a federal judge says that

2:05:21you need 27 additional positions,

2:05:22correct?

2:05:23>> Absolutely. And I just think it's even

2:05:25more cost-effective if we put those 27

2:05:29people we fund those 27 people, we get

2:05:32this building up and operating and it

2:05:34would cut down on and we can get out of

2:05:36this federal consent decree cuz it would

2:05:38definitely cut down on the continued

2:05:41cost of paying monitors and what all the

2:05:43fees

2:05:44surrounding being under a federal

2:05:47consent decree.

2:05:47>> And my understanding is that 27 people

2:05:50just that one appropriation is about 1.2

2:05:52million, correct?

2:05:53>> Yes.

2:05:53>> Okay. I just want to make sure we have

2:05:55that round number in our head because

2:05:59I think it's and also as you stated a

2:06:01large portion of your request for an

2:06:05increase is the medical contract which

2:06:10as my understanding part of the consent

2:06:11decree so it's not really optional

2:06:14either, correct?

2:06:15>> Right. And and I and you know, in the in

2:06:17the current in the proposed budget it

2:06:20says that we would get like a 12%

2:06:22increase. I want people to understand

2:06:24what that 12% increase means. That means

2:06:28an increase for the medical

2:06:31um medical vendor. Most of it go is

2:06:33going to go to them. We're only going to

2:06:36the it back into um our general fund is

2:06:39only going to be a little over $600,000.

2:06:42So, most of that increase that is talked

2:06:44about in this current proposed uh budget

2:06:48is 12%

2:06:49and most of that money is going to go to

2:06:52the medical contractor, but not

2:06:55to um the jail itself.

2:06:57>> Right. And and in the current proposed

2:07:01budget, there are several

2:07:04non-agreed-upon facts yet where I think

2:07:08that part of the estimation and cuts is

2:07:10that there'll be a reduction in jail

2:07:12population.

2:07:13Now, obviously

2:07:16under the law that previous council

2:07:18passed, there is a cap.

2:07:20>> Mhm.

2:07:20>> And we are certainly going to work with

2:07:22all partners to bring it down to that

2:07:24cap, which would see a reduction for

2:07:27your office, for the DA's office, for

2:07:29public defender's office. Everybody

2:07:30would breathe a little easier

2:07:34should that reduction take place.

2:07:35>> Mhm.

2:07:36>> The challenge is we have to budget we

2:07:39can't budget necessarily for tomorrow

2:07:41for there to be a reduction until we

2:07:44start to see the population move in that

2:07:46direction. And for the most part, out of

2:07:49all the parties we have here today,

2:07:50you're the person least in control of

2:07:52that reduction, correct?

2:07:53>> That's correct.

2:07:54>> Right. So, as long as

2:07:58these individuals by law, whether it be

2:08:01local municipal law or state law,

2:08:04have to be in your facility, you're

2:08:06stuck with them.

2:08:07>> Absolutely.

2:08:07>> Right.

2:08:08>> It you know, in in order to bring down

2:08:10our population, again, it takes the

2:08:13cooperation of all our

2:08:15um criminal justice partners. We need

2:08:17DOC to uh come and get those inmates

2:08:20that need to be transferred there. And

2:08:22also those who are on probation holds,

2:08:24we need their cases to get moving either

2:08:27those cases set uh for a revocation

2:08:29hearing or they need to be released. We

2:08:32also you know need the DA's office just

2:08:35like he mentioned in his his

2:08:36presentation. Those cases with of course

2:08:39along with the judges, they need to move

2:08:41a little bit quicker. Move some cases

2:08:44from

2:08:45state misdemeanors to

2:08:48to municipal court. You know those low

2:08:50low level state misdemeanors to

2:08:52municipal court. There are a number of

2:08:53things that need to happen in order to

2:08:56bring our population down because that

2:08:58would remove some people from this jail.

2:09:00I think for us to properly function, we

2:09:02need to be right at a thousand and then

2:09:05we could work with the budget

2:09:07that we currently have. I went back and

2:09:09looked at the budget from 2021 all the

2:09:12way up and that less

2:09:15people in our custody but it we had more

2:09:18revenue to use. Now we have less but

2:09:21more people and so it makes it very very

2:09:23difficult

2:09:25to continue the way on the path to being

2:09:28successful. In order to lower our

2:09:30population, in order to get

2:09:32infrastructure

2:09:34projects done, in order to move into

2:09:36this new building. And so all of those

2:09:39things matter but it what most matters

2:09:41is that our partners get some things

2:09:44done so our population can come down.

2:09:48Then that means there's less of a

2:09:50financial burden on providing for 1400

2:09:53people rather than 1000 people. So but

2:09:56we can't let anybody out of jail. We

2:09:58can't

2:09:59lift a probation holds. We can't change

2:10:02from making a state misdemeanor that's

2:10:04in state in state court moving into

2:10:08municipal court or make it the DA move

2:10:11faster on a case or on the public

2:10:13defender move faster on in their their

2:10:15their cases or the judges for that

2:10:17matter. And we it's going to be it's I

2:10:19think it's It's

2:10:20that we do something and we do something

2:10:22now because we're moving from 12 judges

2:10:26to nine. And so that's going to slow the

2:10:28process within itself. So I think it's

2:10:31crucial that we get those things done

2:10:33very very quickly.

2:10:34>> And there's one more intangible I want

2:10:35to make sure the public's aware of. So

2:10:38when you're looking at those those

2:10:39people in custody that are DOC,

2:10:41what used to happen is that there would

2:10:44be surrounding parishes with capacity

2:10:47and DOC would transfer those people to

2:10:49surrounding parishes. But what has

2:10:51happened is

2:10:52the rates that are paid by federal

2:10:56government for things like ICE holds

2:11:00have filled many of those facilities. So

2:11:03whereas where we used to have the wiggle

2:11:05room to move someone that is a potential

2:11:08DOC uh

2:11:10DOC obligation, somebody who is

2:11:12potentially a violent criminal that has

2:11:14to be held for an extended period of

2:11:16time,

2:11:17we can't move them because the federal

2:11:19government is paying

2:11:22other facilities

2:11:24a premium rate to hold non-violent

2:11:27people who have an ICE hold.

2:11:30>> Absolutely correct. They're paying um in

2:11:32upwards of $150

2:11:34per

2:11:35>> And how much does DOC pay?

2:11:37>> 29 about $29.

2:11:39>> Right. So so there is a cost-benefit

2:11:41analysis that's being done across the

2:11:43state where every sheriff has to

2:11:45maintain a facility, pay their

2:11:47employees, and

2:11:50they are being incentivized

2:11:52to have individuals there,

2:11:54hold them there in those facilities, and

2:11:57it's taking up spots that directly

2:12:00impact. So to the point that the DA

2:12:02made, you kind of have this

2:12:05New Orleans has become

2:12:07a dumping ground for diff for the state

2:12:09to send certain people here so that we

2:12:11have to deal with them. This is another

2:12:13instance in which we have

2:12:16people that are should be in DOC custody

2:12:19that

2:12:21we're certainly going to work with our

2:12:22DOC partners to figure out the parole

2:12:24situation and probation issues, but

2:12:27there is a great possibility that they

2:12:29may not have spots in their system.

2:12:32And so, we're stuck holding people that

2:12:35are not our obligation and that are

2:12:37keeping our jail above its number, which

2:12:40in turn is additional cost to the people

2:12:42of the city of New Orleans to try and

2:12:45keep the jail operating at a

2:12:47constitutional level, correct?

2:12:49>> Yeah, that's correct. And you know, with

2:12:50all transparency, we have been talking

2:12:53to the Department of Corrections. We

2:12:55actually hired former Secretary of

2:12:58Jimmy LeBlanc to come on our team as a

2:13:00consultant so he can,

2:13:03you know, keep that relationship with a

2:13:05Secretary Westcott so we can work this

2:13:07out. We have been been working with him.

2:13:09So, we have been working with all our

2:13:11partners. You know, we know everybody is

2:13:13strapped everywhere. Even my fellow

2:13:15sheriffs. You know, I've I've talked to

2:13:17Sheriff Turnage, Sheriff LePenz, so

2:13:21and and the sheriff in St. Bernard

2:13:22Parish. Talking to if there is space,

2:13:25sometimes they will help us. If they

2:13:27have some space and we need them to take

2:13:29a couple of people because we are just

2:13:31bursting at the seams. When they can,

2:13:34they have. So, they are willing to help

2:13:36when they can, but of course, they have

2:13:39to do what they have to do for

2:13:42>> I certainly don't want to throw shade on

2:13:44the other sheriffs.

2:13:46>> Cuz as I said, every sheriff has to pay

2:13:48the salaries of their sheriffs. They

2:13:50have to maintain their facilities. And

2:13:53so, if you have the federal government

2:13:56willing to pay you a premium rate so

2:13:58that you can make sure you can keep the

2:14:00lights on and the air conditioning

2:14:01running, that's a consideration, but it

2:14:04is important to always note that the

2:14:06pressures at the federal level when

2:14:08they're pushed down to the state and

2:14:10local level, it's a ripple effect.

2:14:12>> It is.

2:14:12>> It's a ripple effect and it affects the

2:14:15ability ability and availability of

2:14:18those individuals to help us. So, I just

2:14:20want to make the public aware there's

2:14:22pressures that

2:14:24are completely out of our collective

2:14:27control that affect the availability of

2:14:29beds because certainly we're going to

2:14:32work with our partners at the state

2:14:33level to expedite this process, but I

2:14:36don't want to bury the lead that we may

2:14:38expedite that process. We may get those

2:14:40probation and parole holds moving

2:14:42quicker, but if DOC has nowhere to move

2:14:44them, we're still stuck with them till

2:14:46they find somewhere to move them. So,

2:14:48it's just

2:14:50we can do what we can to make our system

2:14:53operate more efficiently, but we have to

2:14:55work with the state and our legislative

2:14:56partners and the governor and the like

2:14:58to make their system run efficiently

2:15:00because

2:15:01at any point in this process, if

2:15:03something gets jammed, it backs up back

2:15:06to us and you're stuck with the people

2:15:08that are there. So,

2:15:09certainly I know Councilmember Wheeler

2:15:12and I toured the facility phase three

2:15:13yesterday.

2:15:15I think that we're looking at a

2:15:16constitutional

2:15:18facility that will provide the resources

2:15:21for those in mental health crisis in

2:15:22particular.

2:15:24It is a premier facility, the likes of

2:15:26which I haven't seen ever, and I think

2:15:29that it will prevent it will present a

2:15:31tremendous opportunity for those in

2:15:34mental health crisis to be returned

2:15:37to our community with the resources

2:15:40necessary to function.

2:15:41The challenge is on the city how we help

2:15:45you get those 27 positions while it's

2:15:48being asked voluntarily of us versus

2:15:51when in a couple of months it might be

2:15:53mandated of us.

2:15:55>> Absolutely. And and I you know, I think

2:15:57this facility could be a win for

2:15:59everyone. A win for us, a win for the

2:16:02city, and a win for the state. It is um,

2:16:05a state-of-the-art um, building, but we

2:16:07need that cooperation from everyone in

2:16:11in the criminal justice ecosystem to do,

2:16:15um, their job to make sure moving folks,

2:16:18um, out of this facility to bring our

2:16:20jail population down. That is at the

2:16:22crux of everything is making sure that

2:16:25jail population comes down so we are

2:16:27able to house the folks in in phase

2:16:30three. And, you know, the what the it's

2:16:32functioning for is for medical and

2:16:34mental health. You know, um,

2:16:36it can help this city tremendously with

2:16:39dealing, um, with a lot of mental

2:16:40illness. You know, we've talked to I had

2:16:42a representative from, uh, Senator

2:16:45Cassidy's office come down and talk to

2:16:47us, um, about all the things, um, about

2:16:50phase three and what's going on in in

2:16:53the jail, you know, and so and we

2:16:55explained, you know, this could be a

2:16:58great opportunity to have Xavier,

2:17:00Tulane, or LSU also partner and make

2:17:03this a real viable facility not just

2:17:06for, um, the city of New Orleans before

2:17:08the state.

2:17:10>> Well, thank you very much.

2:17:12>> Councilmember King.

2:17:14>> Thank you. Good afternoon, good evening,

2:17:15Sheriff. I want to first commend you for

2:17:18thinking outside the box and trans-

2:17:20having conversations with transferring

2:17:22those 18 juveniles to our JJIC. We all

2:17:25know that

2:17:26adult jail is no place, uh, for a a a

2:17:31minor offender, um, regardless of their

2:17:33charge or waiting to be um,

2:17:36waiting to waiting to have their day in

2:17:37court. So, thank you, uh, for that. I'm

2:17:39how much would that, uh, be saving? Any

2:17:42idea how much that's going to save?

2:17:44>> That it would save us?

2:17:45>> Yeah.

2:17:45>> Well, um, we haven't looked at it just

2:17:47yet, but just with the understanding we

2:17:51even if we move them to, uh, when we

2:17:54move them to a JJIC, we still have to

2:17:56provide security for the population that

2:17:59we have there. So, we have to have

2:18:01staffing there.

2:18:02Um

2:18:03we have not quite worked out how we're

2:18:06going to do the medical part. We know a

2:18:09little bit We know a little bit better

2:18:10how we're going to do the education

2:18:12part. So, we don't quite know exactly

2:18:15what the cost for us is going to be in

2:18:17savings or if it's going to cost more

2:18:19because we have to provide all the

2:18:21security and stuff for our population

2:18:24that is being housed there.

2:18:26>> Well, if if if it costs, I think just

2:18:28even if it costs you might think getting

2:18:30those those kids juvenile children out

2:18:34of there is is is the right thing to do

2:18:35regardless of the cost.

2:18:37>> It's definitely worth it because it it

2:18:39it may not be monetary, but it may it

2:18:41will be in space. I I guarantee you cuz

2:18:44again, we are using up an entire pod

2:18:47which can house 60 people. We only have

2:18:5018 kids there and each of them has to be

2:18:53housed in

2:18:54a cell alone. They can't be housed

2:18:56together. And so,

2:18:58there's a whole host of

2:19:00room that we are not using and other

2:19:03pods are overcrowded because we cannot

2:19:05use that particular pod cuz we have to

2:19:07house those juveniles there.

2:19:09>> And speaking of pods over crowdedness,

2:19:11um

2:19:13during the tour, not not the one

2:19:14yesterday, but in the previous previous

2:19:16tour,

2:19:17something that was kind of startling to

2:19:19me was seeing

2:19:21um a

2:19:22full a full pod with one

2:19:26um

2:19:27one deputy. That's one deputy. And and

2:19:30look, I'm not I'm not saying a woman

2:19:32can't do what a man can, but it was a

2:19:34female a young female deputy,

2:19:36um small in stature. And I'm I'm

2:19:38thinking, are we putting her or any

2:19:40deputy in the best situation to be

2:19:42successful with um

2:19:45a full 60 pod unit of at full to

2:19:49capacity with one person? If if

2:19:52something pops off and what kind of

2:19:55success rate would that one person have?

2:19:56so I don't think people understand how

2:19:59how like you said before I I didn't put

2:20:02it together that people live in that

2:20:03prison or that jail 24 hours a day and

2:20:06people work there 12 hours a day, so

2:20:08they're spending half their day there.

2:20:10So, it's at the utmost importance that

2:20:11we keep that that facility safe and and

2:20:14can you speak to having one deputy

2:20:17uh

2:20:18with a 60-man pod? Like what are the

2:20:21challenges that that presents?

2:20:23>> It's a serious challenge. It's a

2:20:26security challenge for that particular

2:20:28employee and it's also

2:20:30a challenge for the people that are

2:20:32housed there. So, what we did is we have

2:20:35a new concept and we it a new concept

2:20:37for us, but I don't think new to the

2:20:40facility. It was tried once before or

2:20:42ran

2:20:43once before and it's called a unit

2:20:45manager and

2:20:47process and that's where we have one

2:20:51person who is responsible for an entire

2:20:53floor with an entire staff where we have

2:20:58a captain,

2:20:59four lieutenants, days and nights, you

2:21:01know, same amount of people

2:21:03and we also have sergeants under those

2:21:06lieutenants and we have some deputies,

2:21:08too. We did it that way or we're going

2:21:11to that concept because it puts more

2:21:13staffing. You won't have one person

2:21:16working by themselves or you won't just

2:21:18have two people working an entire pod.

2:21:22You know, that was one of the biggest

2:21:24and most alarming things that I saw in

2:21:26the transition where you just had one

2:21:28person or nobody actually working at

2:21:32like four pods. They were not being

2:21:34supervised. You know, in in order to

2:21:37another thing in order to get through

2:21:39this federal consent judgment, you have

2:21:41to have proper supervision

2:21:44of the people that are in your custody.

2:21:46For their safety, for your safety and

2:21:49also to make sure that, you know, no

2:21:52one,

2:21:52um,

2:21:53goes unwatched because there are things

2:21:55that go on when you're not supervising,

2:21:57some of these folks, there are other

2:21:59things going on. There's contraband, um,

2:22:01coming in. There are people, um, taking

2:22:04pieces of the building, creating

2:22:06weapons, and using those weapons, doing,

2:22:08um, different incidents. And so, that's

2:22:11why we had to go to a different concept

2:22:13to make sure there are more people on

2:22:15those pods working together for

2:22:17supervision reasons, and also making

2:22:19sure that we're not having contraband

2:22:22come into our facility, and that we

2:22:25bring down the number of assaults that

2:22:27go on inside the jail.

2:22:28>> And I don't think people know that y'all

2:22:30was short on staff. You even started

2:22:33yourself walking the halls and and and,

2:22:36um,

2:22:36you know,

2:22:37>> I do quite often. You know, I'm not

2:22:40going to ask, the people that work with

2:22:43me and for me to do anything that I'm

2:22:45not willing to do. And,

2:22:47I gave the instruction to, the warden at

2:22:50that time and our current warden, look,

2:22:53if we're short, call the entire

2:22:55executive team, call the entire command,

2:22:59command, staff, so that we can come in

2:23:02and adequately staff this place. And

2:23:05that's myself included. I already did it

2:23:07once, got up at about 3:00 a.m.

2:23:10and went it when I was called and said,

2:23:11"Hey, look, we have some people called

2:23:13off. We don't have enough staffing, and,

2:23:16so we're understaffed. There are going

2:23:17to be floors that are not covered." I

2:23:19said, "I'm on my way." And then I called

2:23:21my executive team. So, not willing to

2:23:23do,

2:23:24ask my staff to do anything that I'm not

2:23:27willing to do.

2:23:29It speaks to just who I am. It's, you

2:23:31know, I'm working with people. They

2:23:34don't work for me. I work with them. And

2:23:36so, I'm going to get down and get it in

2:23:38the mud just like they do. I have no

2:23:40problems with doing that. And it shows

2:23:42my commitment to this agency. It shows

2:23:44my commitment to

2:23:45this city and and the people

2:23:48the taxpayers is what they is what they

2:23:51deserve and so that's why I'm willing to

2:23:54go in myself and have the executive team

2:23:56and my command staff go in when we are

2:23:58understaffed.

2:24:00>> I appreciate that. My last comment slash

2:24:02question is I I always talk about the

2:24:04numbers of the jail population.

2:24:07And and you don't you don't make the

2:24:08arrest. You don't prosecute, accept

2:24:11charges, deny charges, you don't set

2:24:13bonds. So exactly what is your role as a

2:24:16sheriff or what can you do to

2:24:18to to reduce that that number?

2:24:22>> No.

2:24:23Not much. The best thing that I can do

2:24:25is rely on my partners. You know, like I

2:24:27said the DA's office, the courts, DOC,

2:24:30probation and parole.

2:24:32We need their help. We are at pretty

2:24:35much at their mercy. We just can't

2:24:37release folks. You know, it has to be on

2:24:39order from a court. You know, we we have

2:24:41to

2:24:42we just can't do it. All we can do is

2:24:45house them, keep them in our custody and

2:24:46care for them. But it's up to

2:24:49um

2:24:50our partners to help us out, move people

2:24:54to the Department of Corrections when

2:24:55they have received their time, they've

2:24:57been convicted and received their time.

2:24:59Make sure we're setting

2:25:01the probation and parole hearings timely

2:25:04and getting those done. So either those

2:25:06people can be released or they can be

2:25:08revoked and move on to DOC. You know,

2:25:11getting the the DA's office and the

2:25:13judges and the public defender's office

2:25:16to get together and be creative about

2:25:19how we can have those who are arrested

2:25:22for those low-level crimes to make sure

2:25:24that they're not spending a whole lot of

2:25:26time in jail. To make sure those cases

2:25:28are moved are moving are moved to

2:25:31municipal court and so they can be

2:25:33adjudicated quickly and properly and

2:25:36that lessens our jail population. So we

2:25:39are depending on our partners and they

2:25:41have been working, communicating with

2:25:43us. They understand each and every one

2:25:46of them. We have had meetings and

2:25:47conversations. Everybody understands the

2:25:50importance of getting their job done so

2:25:52we can bring down our population, close

2:25:54down T- TDC and TMH, and move into this

2:25:59new facility, um, phase three so that we

2:26:01can move on out of the consent decree

2:26:04and that would decrease our population.

2:26:07It would decrease, uh, the cost for the

2:26:09city. What it's costing us in, um, this

2:26:11consent, um, judgment. It It just would,

2:26:14uh, bring down cost in caring for 1,000

2:26:17people rather than caring for 1,400

2:26:19people. So, if we can get all our

2:26:22partners to do that, then definitely it

2:26:24would be a win for all of us.

2:26:26>> I appreciate that and, uh, that's my my

2:26:29last thing you said is $250 a day to

2:26:31house a female inmate?

2:26:32>> It's up there They're in there

2:26:34somewhere. The The, uh,

2:26:36population, um, special population. It

2:26:38may be, um, mental health patients.

2:26:40Those, uh, folks that we have to care

2:26:43for differently, it costs a little bit

2:26:45more. And so, the females are in there

2:26:47somewhere between $200 and $250 a day.

2:26:51I'll get you the exact number, but it's

2:26:53right in there. Um, that's what it

2:26:55costs.

2:26:56>> Well, I just I just want to bring that

2:26:57up because it it it that's roughly the

2:27:00cost of, um, for a year to Wayne

2:27:03Tuition. So,

2:27:04you pay for it now, you pay for it

2:27:06later, but, you know, we're going to pay

2:27:07for it either way. And what are we

2:27:08investing our money in if we we're

2:27:10spending roughly $100,000 to house one

2:27:12person

2:27:13a year?

2:27:14>> You're right. And And I I I I understand

2:27:16what you mean. I'm not paying two Wayne

2:27:17Tuition, but Lord, I'm sure paying USC

2:27:20Tuition and

2:27:21>> Uh, it's up there.

2:27:21>> Yeah. And that it it's a lot of money.

2:27:23It It It It costs in just one person.

2:27:26It's a lot. Um, you know, it's And for

2:27:29those who are, um, just pre-trial and

2:27:32not, um, in the custody of D- of DOC,

2:27:34we're not getting anything for them. We

2:27:36only get paid that $29 for those who are

2:27:39in the Department of of Corrections

2:27:41custody or

2:27:43um DOC inmates rather.

2:27:45>> Thank you.

2:27:46>> Council member Willard.

2:27:49>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um

2:27:51good afternoon, Sheriff and to your

2:27:53team. Um

2:27:55I think you've been doing a really good

2:27:56job. You're showing um strong leadership

2:27:59capability across the jail, across the

2:28:01Sheriff's Department. And I want

2:28:03Yesterday, you know, Council President

2:28:05Morelle was talking about, you know,

2:28:07conversations we had with Judge Africk.

2:28:09And you know, my big takeaway yesterday

2:28:11was um

2:28:13you know,

2:28:15you have to fund phase three uh you have

2:28:17to staff phase three. And if you want to

2:28:20get out of the consent decree, you have

2:28:22to staff phase three. So, it's like

2:28:27seems like we have to do it. Um so, that

2:28:29was the big takeaway that I walked with

2:28:31yesterday.

2:28:32Um but it's it's impressive. It's coming

2:28:34along. And I just want to thank you and

2:28:36your team.

2:28:38Um

2:28:39When we talk about, you know, when doing

2:28:41the math real fast, if you reduce the

2:28:45uh inmates you have in in the jail right

2:28:47now who are on DOC holds,

2:28:50um it brings you like under that 1250

2:28:53number, right?

2:28:54>> Yes.

2:28:55>> So, on the DOC side, is it just is this

2:28:57kind of standard it takes them a while

2:29:00to pick up, you know, who they're

2:29:02supposed to pick up? Or is it just they

2:29:04don't have availability right now?

2:29:06>> I think it just depends on the um

2:29:09availability that they have on their end

2:29:11for for housing um the inmates. And I

2:29:13think

2:29:15across the board, we all are

2:29:17experiencing, you know, overcrowding.

2:29:19>> Yeah. Yeah, you and you mentioned other

2:29:22sheriffs in the region experiencing the

2:29:24same issues. Um certainly sounds like an

2:29:27area that uh the legislature needs to

2:29:30look into for next year. Uh, it's not

2:29:32sustainable. Uh, just a couple of

2:29:35questions on your budget. Um,

2:29:37how many budgeted but unfilled positions

2:29:40do you have right now?

2:29:43>> Um,

2:29:44it's 40% of the

2:29:45>> 40%

2:29:46>> About 40%.

2:29:48>> About 40%. Wow. So, you having trouble

2:29:51hiring right now?

2:29:52>> Um, some of it is natural attrition.

2:29:54Some of it is, um, you know, the the

2:29:56hiring, um, attempting to hire the

2:29:59number [snorts] of people that we need.

2:30:00>> Mhm. So, it's attrition and, um,

2:30:04retention, I guess.

2:30:05>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, recruitment and

2:30:07retention.

2:30:07>> Recruitment

2:30:08>> We're getting ready to, um, begin,

2:30:10uh, well, we already started the Welcome

2:30:12Home program, trying to recruit, um,

2:30:15some folks who had previously worked for

2:30:17the Sheriff's Office and come January,

2:30:19we're going to start another, um,

2:30:22recruitment effort. But, we are out

2:30:24every day. Um, I'm telling everybody,

2:30:25"Hey, go on our website. There's several

2:30:27positions available,

2:30:29um,

2:30:30on our website. Please come and join,

2:30:33um, OPSO." And I just want to say this,

2:30:35too, that, um,

2:30:36the you can't do this alone, right? You

2:30:39have to have, uh, good employees, a

2:30:42great team, um, not just my executive

2:30:45staff. But, I I definitely have to give

2:30:47a shout-out to the men and women who

2:30:49work inside this facility.

2:30:51>> Yeah.

2:30:52>> This is a tough job. It's hard and

2:30:54they're paid little to do it. But, I

2:30:57found, um, walking on different pods,

2:31:00going to different areas of the jail,

2:31:02there are so many people who are

2:31:05committed, um, to this organization,

2:31:08committed to this career. And that keeps

2:31:10me, and, um, helps me to be hopeful. And

2:31:13so, um, I have to, um, just commend them

2:31:15for the job that they have been doing.

2:31:17And I know change isn't easy. And we are

2:31:19doing a culture change here, which is

2:31:21even,

2:31:22uh, a little more harder than just

2:31:24changing from one head, right, one

2:31:26leader to the next. You know, we're

2:31:28trying to change the culture here, but

2:31:30they are embracing it. Um, they're doing

2:31:32a great job and I have to commend them.

2:31:34The reason why we can do all the things

2:31:36that we do is be two because they do a

2:31:38great job.

2:31:39>> Okay.

2:31:40Um, I

2:31:41I agree.

2:31:43Looks like in the budget you're

2:31:44projecting about a million less in state

2:31:46and federal grants. Is that from grants

2:31:49expiring or reduction in state funding?

2:31:52Could y'all elaborate on that? The cause

2:31:55of that?

2:31:55>> would I found or what we found in um,

2:31:58the grants that we did have, a lot of

2:31:59them were matching. And so, um, we had

2:32:02to come up with our portion in there.

2:32:05And then some of them are just are just

2:32:07expired uh, are going to expire. And so,

2:32:10we're still now exploring

2:32:13>> [clears throat]

2:32:13>> um, new grants. A lot of one big thing

2:32:17that uh, kind of like um, kicks us out

2:32:19of applying for certain grants is of

2:32:21course the immigration thing, right?

2:32:24Under the federal

2:32:25>> Federal grants, yeah.

2:32:26>> Yeah. Under under, you know, um, the

2:32:28consent decree, we have to work in

2:32:30certain parameters. And so, it doesn't

2:32:33allow us to apply for some of those um,

2:32:36federal grants.

2:32:37>> Got you.

2:32:37>> And so, that's why, you know, we're

2:32:40grants are are scarce for us because we

2:32:42have we are working under this federal

2:32:44consent decree and we cannot um, you

2:32:47know, uh, do we can't apply for those

2:32:50because sometimes a lot of them have

2:32:52verbage in there about the immigration

2:32:53piece or the uh, HSI piece.

2:32:56>> Do you Do you have an idea of the

2:32:58additional costs it um, bear that we

2:33:01bear for the consent decree?

2:33:04>> Well, I do have

2:33:08a little something

2:33:10on that. And I'll just give you let's

2:33:13talk about the monitors cost, right?

2:33:16And I'll go from year to year. From

2:33:172022, it was 300 and uh,

2:33:22dollars Uh,

2:33:24for 2023 755,000

2:33:27dollars and some change

2:33:29for 2024 485,000

2:33:33and a little bit more.

2:33:34>> just for monitors.

2:33:35>> This is just for monitors. That is just

2:33:39for the monitors. Last year it was

2:33:41609,377

2:33:45dollars and 40 cents. This year we are

2:33:48at 539,941

2:33:52dollars and 33 [clears throat] cents.

2:33:53That's just through September and so we

2:33:56have to pay them

2:33:58monthly and so this is the cost that

2:34:02we my myself my agency and the city is

2:34:05bearing to be in this and that's just a

2:34:08portion. That's not the entire thing.

2:34:11That's just to pay the monitors.

2:34:13>> Okay.

2:34:14Couple of more questions. Looks like the

2:34:16food service contract is increasing by

2:34:18about a half a million. Is that and we

2:34:21talked about this Sheriff the food that

2:34:24is served there sometimes not edible. So

2:34:27is that to get a new vendor or increase

2:34:30the quality of the food provided in the

2:34:32jail?

2:34:32>> We that's what we're exploring right

2:34:34now. Either the current vendor is going

2:34:36to have to

2:34:37produce a better quality of food and

2:34:39also bring down some of the cost because

2:34:42I think we are paying an astronomical

2:34:45number

2:34:46for food

2:34:47>> it to other jails?

2:34:49>> We have we we went to our partners of

2:34:51course other we went and visited a

2:34:53number of other jail facilities in other

2:34:56parishes and we asked what's best you

2:34:58know what's best practices to keep cost

2:35:00down but give quality food. Depending on

2:35:03the amount of inmates that that

2:35:05particular jail can hire. Some say oh we

2:35:07use food service vendors. Others say we

2:35:09actually cook in-house and we use our

2:35:12own staff. So we're trying to figure out

2:35:14what works best for OPS. So and we're

2:35:17doing that.

2:35:19Um but we're getting ready to We

2:35:20actually now have a procurement

2:35:22department, which we kind of didn't have

2:35:25when we walked in the door, and so

2:35:28they're working on putting out some some

2:35:31things for bid. Those those particular

2:35:33contracts, our food service contract,

2:35:34for bid to see what works best for OPS

2:35:38so to give quality at a less expensive

2:35:42cost than what we're paying now.

2:35:43>> Okay. Um final question, I I know the

2:35:46Sheriff's Office owns various properties

2:35:48throughout the city. We've talked about

2:35:50this.

2:35:51Um I think some of them aren't really

2:35:53utilized. Are you working on a plan to

2:35:55kind of offload those and and put those

2:35:58properties back into cur- commerce and

2:36:00sell them?

2:36:00>> Absolutely. You know, we've had We have

2:36:03anything from We own a cemetery. I don't

2:36:06know how we how that happened, but

2:36:09to um a lot to

2:36:11a townhouse and things that we are not

2:36:14utilizing and that we just want to put

2:36:16back into commerce and bring more money

2:36:18back into

2:36:20um the Sheriff's Office. So, we're

2:36:21working that out. We're trying to figure

2:36:23out where all We We figured out where

2:36:25all those properties are.

2:36:27Um working with the Assessor's Office to

2:36:28see you know, what they're worth and how

2:36:30>> [clears throat]

2:36:31>> we can go through the process um of

2:36:33getting rid of those. Working with our

2:36:34real estate attorney, who is assigned to

2:36:36um our civil division, trying to see how

2:36:39we can get these back in the commerce or

2:36:41what can we do to make sure that um the

2:36:44revenue from there is put back inside uh

2:36:47the Sheriff's Office and let someone

2:36:49else utilize that those properties.

2:36:51>> Okay. Sounds good. Thank you, Sheriff.

2:36:53>> Uh Council Vice President, Mr. Sheriff,

2:36:54if I may, just one clarifying point on

2:36:56that number of budgeted but vacant, uh I

2:36:58gave the Sheriff the number 40%. That

2:37:00actually is We're 40% under what we

2:37:03would call our optimum staffing for for

2:37:05the the security facilities. The actual

2:37:08budgeted amount that are vacant as a far

2:37:10lower percentage. Uh we'll follow up

2:37:12with that.

2:37:12>> Yeah, if you could give me that so to

2:37:14clarify

2:37:15you have 40% fewer employees than you

2:37:18would optimally have.

2:37:19>> Absolutely.

2:37:20>> Okay, thank you. Thank you, Keith.

2:37:21>> Thank you, sir.

2:37:22>> Thank you, Councilmember Willard. You

2:37:23asked the question that I was forgetting

2:37:25to ask about the properties owned by the

2:37:27Sheriff. I would suggest that y'all

2:37:29reach out to the New Orleans Building

2:37:31Corporation. Annie's amazing. And or

2:37:34Nora, see see their process for

2:37:37assessing properties, getting them back

2:37:39into commerce. a rubric that they use

2:37:41and they also have expertise there and

2:37:44then it takes it off your plate from

2:37:45having to even deal with it.

2:37:47>> Thank you.

2:37:48>> I do have three cards. Nadia Muhammad

2:37:50followed by Prescott Cavercov followed

2:37:53by Will Snowden.

2:37:56And reminder, please state if you're a

2:37:58paid actor, your address and you get two

2:38:00minutes to speak.

2:38:06>> Good morning, good afternoon.

2:38:08Um, this is Robert Ford. Um, councilmen

2:38:11and women, my name is Nadia Muhammad.

2:38:13I'm an advocate for human rights. I My

2:38:16address 2439 Delery Street. And I am not

2:38:20paid to be here.

2:38:22I support the proposed budget for the

2:38:25OPSO. I'm grateful to say that I'm good

2:38:29from the last time that I was here and I

2:38:32found a home in New Orleans East.

2:38:35So, that's a great thing for me.

2:38:37Um, our juvenile justice is under attack

2:38:39right now. So, I ask where is the

2:38:41justice? When it comes to our youth, how

2:38:44can we help them to become productive

2:38:47law-abiding citizens? We look into our

2:38:50homes. We look for love, kindness,

2:38:52caring, and the lessons. But how can

2:38:55that be when our youth are silent in

2:38:58their homes? They're stripped away from

2:39:00their family structure, mothers' homes,

2:39:02fathers trying to provide only to be

2:39:05placed in their own solitary

2:39:06confinement. The state of Louisiana JJIC

2:39:10website shows services and this is what

2:39:13I support. They assess the needs and

2:39:16support the individuals make a

2:39:18recommendation for their treatment and

2:39:20placement. The public defenders have the

2:39:22case loads not people. Why are so many

2:39:25of our African-American youth in jail by

2:39:28the scale tips for others? Are they not

2:39:30committing the same crime or is it

2:39:32someone's sons and grandsons of status?

2:39:35As the same crime does not get the same

2:39:37time. The service coordinators there is

2:39:40there to help build stronger

2:39:42relationship and and increase

2:39:44communications with the probation and

2:39:46parole officer only to be pushed aside

2:39:49like a piece of paper that is shredded

2:39:51each day without asking them why or why

2:39:55or moreover how can I help them? This is

2:39:58I'm speaking on the probation and parole

2:40:01officers.

2:40:04When we uh

2:40:05okay, the 4 minutes 30

2:40:07but um as we continue

2:40:11>> That's your time. Thank you Ms. Muhammad

2:40:13for coming down. Pres.

2:40:20>> Uh budget chair Harris, council members

2:40:24uh

2:40:25Pres Cabacoff 840 Pauline

2:40:28uh

2:40:29I'm going to preach to the choir that

2:40:30you've already heard. Support them. Uh

2:40:33I I was the convener of the

2:40:36City Service Coalition to improve city

2:40:38services and one of our categories

2:40:40[snorts] was justice and safety

2:40:42and we had three major recommendations.

2:40:45First

2:40:47criminal justice system is a system and

2:40:49needs to be coordinated and the city has

2:40:51moved effectively to put Daniel Shanks

2:40:53in that role and it's happening.

2:40:56Uh secondly, you you can't solve crime

2:40:59with police alone. You've got to build a

2:41:01quality of life in those neighborhoods

2:41:04and I'm pleased to see that Communities

2:41:07of Hope and Nola 360 are building on the

2:41:10No Dice program for quality of life in

2:41:13many neighborhoods throughout the city.

2:41:15You need to support that.

2:41:17And then third, which is the most

2:41:19drastic uh

2:41:21uh when jail populations hits 1,500 and

2:41:25you've got enough guards to handle 800,

2:41:28you have a

2:41:29uh disaster and a disaster waiting to

2:41:31happen.

2:41:33Uh

2:41:34the systematic approach is the only way

2:41:36to change it. You need the DA, you need

2:41:38the the public defender, you need the

2:41:40courts, the the clerk, the sheriff uh

2:41:44and the state

2:41:45uh to work together to find safe ways

2:41:48and there are safe ways to reduce that

2:41:50jail population.

2:41:52And that makes the system much more

2:41:54efficient

2:41:55and effective with a lower jail

2:41:57population and you can save a lot of

2:41:59money.

2:42:00Uh

2:42:01and you need to make sure that the DA

2:42:03and the sheriff has and and the and the

2:42:06public defender has sufficient staff to

2:42:09pull that off cuz it requires their

2:42:12their attention.

2:42:13Uh so uh uh

2:42:16thank you very much. I'm just repeating

2:42:18what you've already heard from many

2:42:19people. It sounds like you're on board.

2:42:21Let's get it done. Thank you.

2:42:24>> Thank you. Will?

2:42:35Hold on.

2:42:35>> Yeah.

2:42:36>> Talk again?

2:42:37>> Good morning. My name is Will Snowden,

2:42:39uh 7905 Genky Road. I'm a professor at

2:42:42Loyola Law School and I am the director

2:42:44of the Juror Project. Uh I'm here to

2:42:46acknowledge Sheriff Woodfork's statement

2:42:48that as leading the jail, there's that

2:42:51much that she can actually do to reduce

2:42:53the jail population. And we know that

2:42:55some effective strategies to reduce the

2:42:57jail population, including the

2:42:58individuals like the public defender's

2:43:00office that are going to go and meet

2:43:02with the clients inside the jail um to

2:43:04have perhaps facilitate uh plea deals to

2:43:07resolve cases to help reduce that

2:43:09population. Um I would want want to

2:43:11remind us that we have, I believe, a

2:43:13capacity of 1,438 people in the jail and

2:43:16we're currently over that. Um when we

2:43:19think about by ordinance, I think our

2:43:21jail population is supposed to be 1,250.

2:43:24So, that's kind of our north star in

2:43:25thinking about how we can get to that

2:43:27particular number. Uh we all know that

2:43:29fewer people incarcerated is going to

2:43:31lead to a safer jail. And as we think

2:43:34about phase three coming online, there's

2:43:37an ordinance that says when you bring

2:43:38these beds online in phase three, you

2:43:41have to decommission beds in OJC. So,

2:43:43thinking about how are we staying true

2:43:46to that. One of the ways in which we can

2:43:48help facilitate that jail population

2:43:50reduction is supporting public defenders

2:43:52having access to their clients to help

2:43:54facilitate those plea deals, um as well

2:43:56as ensuring that the care that they need

2:43:58while they are in jail, and that they

2:44:00are under the care of Sheriff Wicker

2:44:02that they're being safe, that they're

2:44:03getting their medication. And when

2:44:05people are inside the jail, having those

2:44:07needs met, I found that they're actually

2:44:09in a better position to make important

2:44:11decisions about their case. So, as you

2:44:13are dedicated to ensuring that the

2:44:14sheriff's office is able to make sure

2:44:16that people incarcerated uh are safe, I

2:44:19just want to highlight that supporting

2:44:21the public defender's office is a is an

2:44:22integral part of that because they're

2:44:24meeting with the folks inside the jail

2:44:26on a regular basis. And also just want

2:44:28to remind us that we have, this goal of

2:44:301,250 people in our jail, which is

2:44:32really calculated based on the size of

2:44:34New Orleans and the crime rate, which is

2:44:37uh has consistently been going down.

2:44:39Thank you.

2:44:41>> All right.

2:44:43Hearing nothing else, you're free to go.

2:44:45Thank you.

2:44:45>> Thank you.

2:44:46>> Up next is the Orleans Parish Public

2:44:48Defender's Office.

2:44:57>> I think it's okay.

2:45:05>> Are you running out?

2:45:06>> No, I'm just closing all of this stuff

2:45:08first, man.

2:45:09I had all kind of stuff in there.

2:45:31>> Where am I? Where do you want me?

2:45:34>> There or over here?

2:45:35>> What? Here?

2:45:36>> No, here. Here.

2:45:39>> Do you want me to hold your hand?

2:45:41>> Yeah.

2:45:45>> [clears throat]

2:45:48>> I'm going to have to tighten up.

2:45:54Can you hear me now?

2:46:07>> Can you hold it?

2:46:10Hold this.

2:46:15>> There's a chair down there. Okay, that

2:46:16one.

2:46:17>> Let's go.

2:46:29>> 7 8 9 10

2:46:3311. I'm always looking for a good meal.

2:46:36Whenever y'all are ready

2:46:37>> Thank you.

2:46:38Just

2:46:43>> Ready?

2:46:50>> Ready?

2:46:50>> Ready.

2:46:51>> Good afternoon.

2:46:53Uh

2:46:53ladies and gentlemen of the council,

2:46:55thank you for having us. My name is

2:46:57Danny Engelberg. I'm the chief public

2:46:59defender for New Orleans.

2:47:01Uh at the table with me now

2:47:03are Lindsey Hortonstein, uh Danielle

2:47:05Berger,

2:47:07uh our uh

2:47:08uh

2:47:09deputy CEO and deputy chief public

2:47:11defender Meg Garvey, our

2:47:13director of policy Robert Jones, our

2:47:16director of community outreach Versa

2:47:17Hortonstein, our director of our mental

2:47:19health unit.

2:47:20Uh together, there's more than

2:47:23a century of public service

2:47:25at this table.

2:47:28Uh

2:47:28and Council Member King,

2:47:30when you said that at uh

2:47:34the Orleans public defenders, we are

2:47:35essential workers to the uh

2:47:38city and for our community,

2:47:41that there could be nothing that's more

2:47:42true than that. Uh

2:47:46that the at the OPD, we not only fulfill

2:47:48our constitutional mandate,

2:47:50we protect innocents, we improve

2:47:52community health,

2:47:54we make our city safer, we reduce crime,

2:47:57and we save the city millions of

2:48:00dollars.

2:48:02All of that, bluntly, is at risk

2:48:05with that with the

2:48:07proposed budget for 2027.

2:48:10The proposed cuts for OPD cannot be

2:48:12viewed in this year alone. They are on

2:48:14top of the 31% cuts from last year, and

2:48:17on top of over a million dollars of of

2:48:20traffic camera

2:48:22funds that were turned off.

2:48:24In total, the plummet of over 40% of our

2:48:26funding will create a crisis throughout

2:48:28our criminal justice criminal justice

2:48:30system.

2:48:31And as DA Williams said, throughout our

2:48:34ecosystem that keeps us healthy and

2:48:36safe.

2:48:40Last year, ours and the District

2:48:42Attorney's cuts were larger than all

2:48:44other criminal justice agencies. We were

2:48:48asked to utilize our fund balance to get

2:48:50by.

2:48:52And we've done that.

2:48:53But we still have to cut.

2:48:55We've eliminated over 30% of all our

2:48:57contract work cutting 27 contract

2:48:59attorneys.

2:49:01We have cut our bond attorney division.

2:49:05We have implemented a hiring freeze that

2:49:07have left critical positions unfilled.

2:49:10As you can see

2:49:13close to 40 positions

2:49:15that have led to a decrease in overall

2:49:16operations and we have started to

2:49:19furlough starting with myself.

2:49:22The impacts in 2026 are small compared

2:49:26to what we will have happen in 2027 with

2:49:29the combined cuts from 2026 and 2027.

2:49:33Here are just a few things that will

2:49:34happen in 2027.

2:49:37Representation and advocacy at our first

2:49:38appearances will be eliminated.

2:49:41There'll be an ongoing hiring freeze and

2:49:43more staff cuts.

2:49:45There'll be a cut to overall case

2:49:47expenditures.

2:49:48There'll be delays in assignments and

2:49:50unconstitutional case loads.

2:49:52And as we've heard throughout today jail

2:49:54costs will not only

2:49:57get

2:49:58continue to cost the city millions of

2:50:01dollars but will balloon.

2:50:04We will have a continued gap in

2:50:06salaries. Our starting attorney salary

2:50:09is $7,000 less than our counterparts at

2:50:11the District Attorney's office and more

2:50:13than $20,000 less than our counterparts

2:50:15at the City Attorney's office that I'll

2:50:17note in this current budget there's a

2:50:20proposed

2:50:21budget allocation to keep up with market

2:50:24rates for those attorneys. And yet we

2:50:26even at where they are are still over

2:50:28$20,000 less than their salaries.

2:50:32And that's true with the District

2:50:33Attorney's office as well.

2:50:35If we cannot restore or partially

2:50:37restore the combined cuts from last year

2:50:40and the proposed cuts for this year, it

2:50:41will impact the most vulnerable in our

2:50:44community. We'll backslide in our

2:50:46progress on public safety, and we'll put

2:50:49our entire criminal legal system at

2:50:50risk.

2:50:51It will in fact It will in fact cost the

2:50:54city more money.

2:50:56The impacts on us of us not being able

2:50:59to do our job will be great.

2:51:04Despite these budget cuts and the cuts

2:51:06that we had to do in 2026 and the

2:51:08depletion of our reserves, we continue

2:51:10to represent near than 20,000 cases in

2:51:13criminal court, juvenile court, and

2:51:15municipal traffic court.

2:51:18We have not felt the drastic impacts of

2:51:20these shortfalls yet, but 2027 will be a

2:51:24different story.

2:51:27Every day we work to increase public

2:51:29safety and community health and wellness

2:51:31by supporting our most vulnerable and in

2:51:33need clients.

2:51:34OPD is a critical part of the overall

2:51:37public safety infrastructure,

2:51:39specifically our client service

2:51:40division.

2:51:41They work alongside attorneys to connect

2:51:43clients with medical and mental health

2:51:45care subs

2:51:46needs, substance abuse and addiction

2:51:48treatment,

2:51:49supportive and transitional housing,

2:51:51employment assistance, education, and

2:51:53other resources to reduce incarceration,

2:51:55reduce system interaction, and increase

2:51:58community health, safety, and success.

2:52:01Our CSD team partners with community

2:52:04service providers

2:52:05work creatively with other system

2:52:06actors, leaving no stone unturned to

2:52:09find support for our clients to address

2:52:11the root causes of system interaction,

2:52:14generational poverty, trauma, untreated

2:52:17health care needs, and more with the

2:52:19hope of increasing stability, ensuring

2:52:21our own safety, and supporting them as

2:52:22they reenter the community.

2:52:25Uh

2:52:26I myself have my own caseload, and just

2:52:28the other day I was deeply involved in

2:52:31just this part of the work at a client

2:52:33that we

2:52:34did

2:52:35incredible people hours to create a plan

2:52:39for re-entry for substance abuse

2:52:41treatment and to get him released from

2:52:44the jail.

2:52:45The hours it took for both the plan and

2:52:47to implement that plan from our social

2:52:49worker

2:52:50were immense.

2:52:52And we took him to Odyssey House where

2:52:55he is starting a 30-day drug treatment

2:52:57regime

2:52:58and will both make him in a better place

2:53:00than when he

2:53:02uh

2:53:03came in contact with the criminal legal

2:53:05system, but will also improve our

2:53:07overall community health and safety.

2:53:11No area can be

2:53:12more

2:53:14emphasized in doing that is in as in our

2:53:17mental health unit.

2:53:18Uh Bart Hortonstein, our director of

2:53:20mental health unit, is going to describe

2:53:21that work.

2:53:22Thank you.

2:53:23>> The mental health unit lives at the

2:53:24intersection of mental health and the

2:53:26criminal legal system.

2:53:28Uh this team began as a collaboration

2:53:30and special grant-funded project of the

2:53:32city

2:53:33to address recurring system interaction

2:53:35in municipal court.

2:53:37To address the revolving doors of the

2:53:39jails and the hospitals.

2:53:42That initial funding allowed us to put

2:53:44systems in place to address the public

2:53:46health issues that frequently stem from

2:53:48people struggling with mental illness,

2:53:50excuse me,

2:53:51struggling [clears throat]

2:53:52struggles which too often are

2:53:53criminalized.

2:53:55That initial version of MHU was a

2:53:57success and thanks to the funding paired

2:54:00and the support of the city, we were

2:54:02able to grow the division and expand out

2:54:04of municipal court into felony court.

2:54:07The unit now includes myself, two

2:54:09experienced staff attorneys, a social

2:54:11worker, and a paralegal.

2:54:13While the mental health unit provides

2:54:14direct representation of clients

2:54:15suffering from serious mental illnesses

2:54:17like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

2:54:19and or cognitive impairments like

2:54:21intellectual disability and traumatic

2:54:23brain injury, this team also

2:54:24collaborates with community stakeholders

2:54:26on alternatives to incarceration.

2:54:29One such collaboration is the mental

2:54:30health diversion program. Now, this is a

2:54:33joint program between the public

2:54:34defender, district attorney, and

2:54:36instead, which diverts people suffering

2:54:38from a mental crisis from incarceration.

2:54:41Like LEAD and the crisis response team,

2:54:43which I was privileged to play a part in

2:54:45creating, mental health diversion is a

2:54:48prime example of this community's effort

2:54:51to help rather than jail its people

2:54:54experiencing crisis.

2:54:55A healthy, safe alternative to

2:54:57incarceration that is also

2:54:59cost-effective.

2:55:01I want to thank Daniel Sinks and Andre

2:55:02Godin for their assistance in this with

2:55:04the District Attorney's office.

2:55:06It is the correct fiscal choice, but

2:55:08more importantly, it is the right thing

2:55:10to do.

2:55:11Let me share the story of a recent

2:55:13impact with you.

2:55:14One participant in the mental

2:55:15[clears throat] health diversion program

2:55:16was admitted for a minor offense, which

2:55:18could have held him in jail for 6

2:55:20months.

2:55:21But instead of paying for him to be

2:55:22locked up in a cage, not receiving

2:55:24treatment or improvements to his living

2:55:26situation, he was released from jail,

2:55:29placed into the care of instead.

2:55:31He worked with them and successfully

2:55:33completed diversion, and his charges

2:55:34were dismissed.

2:55:36While we were not paying for him to be

2:55:38housed in a jail cell, he was helped by

2:55:40instead to secure a phone, get clothes,

2:55:43food, medicine, make his appointments

2:55:46with treatment providers.

2:55:48Instead initially helped him with

2:55:50securing temporary housing in a

2:55:51low-barrier shelter.

2:55:53Still, he struggled to find permanent

2:55:55housing. And after more than a year and

2:55:56a half after he had completed the

2:55:59diversion, after his charges had been

2:56:01dismissed, he still worked with instead

2:56:05and finally secured permanent housing.

2:56:09This stability has and will continue to

2:56:12keep him out of jail.

2:56:14Like this person, hundreds of New

2:56:16Orleanians have been kept out of jail

2:56:18and given critical stabilizing support,

2:56:20care, and programming thanks to the

2:56:22in-community meeting them where they're

2:56:24at model of the Instead program, and the

2:56:27collective work of the Public Defender's

2:56:29Office and the District Attorney.

2:56:31Between the Mental Health Unit, our CSD

2:56:33team, and OPD's collaboration with our

2:56:36community partners, we are addressing

2:56:38the root causes of system interaction.

2:56:41If left unaddressed, the roots will

2:56:43grow,

2:56:44and they will lead to longer

2:56:45incarceration, more compounding costs.

2:56:48The work of OPD is already saving the

2:56:51city money.

2:56:52By prior By prioritizing the biggest

2:56:55drivers of system interaction,

2:56:57inadequate mental health care and

2:56:58support, substance use disorders, and

2:57:00housing insecurity and instability, we

2:57:03can actively lower the jail population,

2:57:06better support our most vulnerable

2:57:08communities, and in turn save the city

2:57:10money that can be put to better use than

2:57:12a jail cell.

2:57:15>> Thank you, Mr. Hornstein.

2:57:16As I think I heard you say,

2:57:18Councilmember Morrell, the other day,

2:57:20how

2:57:21the

2:57:22really great strides we've made as a

2:57:24city in reducing crime and making us a

2:57:26safer place are often the unseen and

2:57:29untold work that's happening behind the

2:57:31scenes. There can no be no further

2:57:34example of the work of our Mental Health

2:57:36Unit and our Client Services Division

2:57:38that is part of that work that's

2:57:40happening behind the scenes, the unsung

2:57:43work that's making us a safer, healthier

2:57:45community and has been a part of the

2:57:47success that we've seen that we do not

2:57:50want to backslide on with this budget.

2:57:53Uh

2:57:53we already talked about our staffing. Uh

2:57:56Councilmember Willard, you you asked

2:57:57about unfilled positions.

2:58:00Uh we have, as I said, close to 40

2:58:02unfilled positions with our hiring

2:58:04freeze.

2:58:05That will just go increase much more uh

2:58:09with if this um current budget goes um

2:58:12forward. Uh

2:58:14we are here

2:58:15asking the council to restore

2:58:18the 40% cuts we've received in 2025

2:58:212026.

2:58:24We will, if restored, address the

2:58:26backlogs that are certain to come with

2:58:28the elimination of the three sections of

2:58:30court.

2:58:31Uh

2:58:32the last several years have seen a wave

2:58:34of new laws that continue to increase

2:58:36our work and the complexity of cases

2:58:39such as increased body cam, real-time

2:58:41camera, and other private surveillance

2:58:43footage.

2:58:44And we've also seen exponentially high

2:58:46higher sentence regimes.

2:58:49For example, I recently represented a

2:58:51client on a relatively low-level felony.

2:58:54This case included over 20 hours of

2:58:57video footage from both real-time crime

2:58:59camera and body camera

2:59:01that had to be reviewed. We cannot cut

2:59:04corners.

2:59:05This is a not only a constitutional

2:59:07requirement, but you have to think about

2:59:09our work, about what would you want the

2:59:11public defender to do for someone that's

2:59:13in your family. You wouldn't want them

2:59:15to not review the video and look at the

2:59:17evidence. You wouldn't want them to cut

2:59:18corners. We not only cannot

2:59:20constitutionally, but we cannot afford

2:59:23to do that.

2:59:24We have to review every piece of

2:59:26discovery, and that's just for one

2:59:28client's case. Imagine that times

2:59:3020,000.

2:59:32We will continue to build on our mental

2:59:34health unit and improve our mental

2:59:36health representation and prioritize

2:59:39incarcerational alternatives.

2:59:41We are also asking to for this uh

2:59:44cuts to be not only to be uh restored

2:59:47for us, but also for the LCCR.

2:59:51Because through our partnership with

2:59:53LCCR and our own work, we will do the

2:59:56needed work on behalf of the children

2:59:58that we represent. And we will do the

3:00:00needed work on behalf of the parents and

3:00:02families when when we do the critical

3:00:05work of representing parents in our

3:00:08child in need of care system.

3:00:12And as you've heard a lot today,

3:00:14because I know dollars are tight,

3:00:16one of the things that we can do both on

3:00:18a human level, but also on a fiscal

3:00:20level, that can address the fiscal and

3:00:23financial crisis at the jail, is the

3:00:26plan that you've heard uh District

3:00:28Attorney Williams discuss, and uh Mae

3:00:31Garvey, our director of policy, will uh

3:00:35present further.

3:00:37>> Thank you, Danny. Um good afternoon.

3:00:41Um so

3:00:42>> Mae, can you pull the microphone closer?

3:00:44>> Yes. Never had anybody want me to be

3:00:47louder, but

3:00:48yes, ma'am. Um

3:00:50>> [clears throat]

3:00:50>> uh on August 29th, 2005,

3:00:54there were 6,375

3:00:58people in our local jail, and I don't

3:01:00probably a lot of you remember this is

3:01:03what that looked like, right? Um and so,

3:01:07about 20 years ago, Orleans Public

3:01:09Defenders was formed out of a desire to

3:01:11never go back to that place. It was

3:01:13formed out of a community desire to

3:01:15never leave people in this situation

3:01:17again.

3:01:19Um people were stranded all across the

3:01:21state state without access to counsel,

3:01:23and I do think that

3:01:26Orleans Public Defenders, and in

3:01:27particular our partnership with the city

3:01:29over the years, is a bright spot in New

3:01:31Orleans history. I think it's something

3:01:32that we all can be proud of. We've come

3:01:35really far together to ensure that the

3:01:38right to counsel belongs to everybody

3:01:39regardless of means.

3:01:42But we heard today um that there's 1,434

3:01:46people in the jail. That's way too many.

3:01:49It's more than the council agreed upon

3:01:51with their ordinance of 1250. It's more

3:01:54than

3:01:56can be in the jail for constitutional

3:01:58conditions. It's more than is safe for

3:02:00the men and women who work there, and

3:02:02it's certainly more than is safe for the

3:02:03people who are housed there wait

3:02:05awaiting their day in court. Um

3:02:08and it's certainly way too many to think

3:02:11that we are anywhere close to getting

3:02:12out of that consent decree.

3:02:14Um I've heard a lot of different numbers

3:02:16back and forth about how much the

3:02:18consent decree costs. We did hear from

3:02:20Sheriff Woodfork [clears throat] today

3:02:21just the monitoring costs, right? And

3:02:24those are already sky-high. Different

3:02:26newspaper articles are talking about

3:02:28numbers between 7 million and 22

3:02:30million, depending on who you ask. It's

3:02:32an exorbitant amount of money. Um and

3:02:35just to be clear, we are

3:02:39while we do want to save money with the

3:02:41consent decree, we want to make sure

3:02:42that we're getting there in a way that

3:02:44achieves the goals of the consent decree

3:02:46in the first place. With this jail

3:02:47population, we're not going to be able

3:02:49to do that. So, I did a little bit of

3:02:52math and you know, we actually have the

3:02:54the the fortune, right, of going after,

3:02:56so we get to hear a little bit more of

3:02:57your questions and I'm more than certain

3:02:59that Sheriff Woodfork and her team are

3:03:01going to supplement this, but I kind of

3:03:03just want to go over these numbers out

3:03:05loud really quickly. One, I'm a lawyer,

3:03:08math is not my strong suit. Two, I just

3:03:10want to show my work because the number

3:03:11is so staggering that I have

3:03:13recalculated it about 20 times in the

3:03:16past 15 minutes and asked all of my

3:03:18staff to back me up because it's not and

3:03:20I think the community needs to hear how

3:03:22much we're spending on on the jail. So,

3:03:25I estimated of 1,434,

3:03:29which I believe was the number that we

3:03:30heard of the current population. So, we

3:03:32learned that not everybody costs the

3:03:35same amount, right? So, if we estimate

3:03:37that about 25% of that population is at

3:03:40that higher number of $250 a day, right?

3:03:43So, that I believe they said that

3:03:45housing women is more expensive. Um I

3:03:48know that there's certain people in um

3:03:51protective custody, people with mental

3:03:53health issues. So, let's say 25%. I

3:03:55think we'll find that's probably a

3:03:57conservative estimate. That's 358

3:04:00people. So, per day, that's $89,625

3:04:05on just that population.

3:04:08Now, if we go back to the rest of the

3:04:09population, that's 1,076

3:04:13* $160 a day, that's $172,168

3:04:19per day. Add that together.

3:04:21$261,660 a day

3:04:26at the current jail population. What

3:04:28does that cost in a week? $1,831,620

3:04:36$1,831,620 a week.

3:04:43And so, the reason that I'm bringing

3:04:44that up is that obviously

3:04:48we're public defenders, right? Our main

3:04:50priority here is the human cost. Our

3:04:52main priority here is the constitutional

3:04:54rights of our clients, right? And so, no

3:04:56budget decision is going to come in

3:04:58between Orleans Public Defenders and our

3:05:01and our clients in terms of

3:05:03what we're, you know, arguing about to

3:05:06the council. But, the money matters, and

3:05:08I think the main takeaway from all of

3:05:09this is that I don't think y'all can

3:05:11afford I don't think the city can afford

3:05:13not to make us whole.

3:05:16Because what OPD does is we keep that

3:05:19jail population down, right? So, before

3:05:21we get even into the the great which

3:05:25Kumbaya kind of situation where we're

3:05:28working with the DAs and we're working

3:05:29with the sheriff, and we have had great

3:05:31meetings, and I am extremely optimistic

3:05:33about our abilities to work together and

3:05:35cut through a lot of the red tape

3:05:36without jeopardizing public safety or

3:05:38constitutional rights. I do believe in

3:05:40that. I'm very optimistic about it. But,

3:05:43even before we get to that point, if

3:05:45we're cut and we can't be there at all

3:05:47of the different stages where we

3:05:49intercede and work to make sure that

3:05:52people who do not need to be in jail for

3:05:54public safety purposes are not there,

3:05:57the jail population is going up, and all

3:06:00of these conversations that we've heard

3:06:01today about all of the efforts that

3:06:04everybody is trying to make are They're

3:06:05not going to happen, right? Because

3:06:07we're there when people sponsor set,

3:06:09we're there to point out when there are

3:06:12issues with the police report, why the

3:06:13person should not be held at all. We're

3:06:15there to go out and get body camera.

3:06:18We're there out to go out and get

3:06:20interview witnesses from the jump. And

3:06:22if we're not doing that right away, a

3:06:23lot of that evidence and information is

3:06:26going to be lost, right? And that can

3:06:28result in wrongful convictions, because

3:06:31it disappears after a couple of months,

3:06:32right? We're not there to get people

3:06:35into programming, to get them mental

3:06:37health treatment, to get them drug

3:06:38treatment. We're not there to help kids

3:06:41make sure they get back into school and

3:06:42programming. We're not there to do any

3:06:44of it. The jail population is going to

3:06:46go up. So, you've already heard the

3:06:48crazy number, right? And I would love

3:06:51for somebody to tell me that I'm wrong,

3:06:52but I don't think that I am. It's going

3:06:55to go up.

3:06:56Um, so I do think that I mean, that's

3:06:59that's basically the main thrust of our

3:07:00presentation. I mean, I had a lot more,

3:07:03you know, uh,

3:07:04flowery things to say, but I think when

3:07:06we're hearing about the numbers and we

3:07:08know y'all have been, you know, trying

3:07:10your hardest to like scratch and dig and

3:07:12trying to figure this out, and you've

3:07:14heard from everybody about how they need

3:07:16more money.

3:07:17I don't think that the city can can

3:07:20afford

3:07:22not to put us back where we need to be

3:07:25in order to be able to have lawyers and

3:07:27advocates at every point in the system,

3:07:30um, to [clears throat] make sure that

3:07:32people are adequately and

3:07:33constitutionally represented.

3:07:36>> It is Councilmember King, you I think

3:07:37you said the people most impacted by

3:07:39these cuts are our own community

3:07:41members. The most vulnerable of our

3:07:43community members. And the reality is we

3:07:44will pay for this these cuts this year,

3:07:47not only

3:07:49this year, but well into the future.

3:07:51You will pay for the what the system

3:07:53needs, and will pay for the extended

3:07:55jail and human costs both this year and

3:07:57down the road. And I got to say, on most

3:08:00days we stand on opposite sides of the

3:08:02courtroom, but today DA Williams and I

3:08:04are here to stand together to make

3:08:07common sense funding that will not only

3:08:10save the city money, but improve our

3:08:12overall community self safety and

3:08:14health.

3:08:16Uh Robert Jones, our director of

3:08:17community outreach, knows all too well

3:08:20the impacts of what the cuts can do to

3:08:23the public defender and what an

3:08:25under-resourced public defender can can

3:08:28can happen.

3:08:30Robert?

3:08:31>> All right.

3:08:33How y'all doing? How y'all doing this

3:08:34morning? Well, this evening. This

3:08:36afternoon.

3:08:37Uh yeah, thank you for the opportunity

3:08:39uh for allowing me to speak um

3:08:43And also, I know y'all

3:08:45y'all y'all been going y'all in a tough

3:08:47uh time right now.

3:08:49But I I also would like would like to

3:08:50extend my gratitude to all of you all uh

3:08:54for the work that you do in the

3:08:55community, no matter what nobody say.

3:08:58And I know cuz I know firsthand because

3:08:59I see y'all everywhere, right? I see

3:09:01y'all within your own uh districts or

3:09:04within other districts, and y'all always

3:09:06showing up for the people, and I thank

3:09:08y'all for the commitment uh that, you

3:09:10know,

3:09:11uh

3:09:12So, you know

3:09:14many of you all may know my story, and

3:09:16many of you may not

3:09:17uh

3:09:19For the most part, I run for convicted.

3:09:21I served more than 23 years in prison

3:09:23for crime I did not commit.

3:09:25Uh

3:09:27And that's due to a failed overall

3:09:30system.

3:09:32A failed overall system.

3:09:34Uh so, I could have I could have came

3:09:37home and just said, you know, I served

3:09:39nearly 24 years of my life in prison for

3:09:41crime I did not commit. Just move on

3:09:43with my life. But because of my lived

3:09:45experience

3:09:47I decided to say, "You know what?

3:09:49I'm going to dedicate myself and go out

3:09:51working within the system to try to make

3:09:53the system better

3:09:55so that

3:09:57somebody wouldn't have to go through

3:09:58what I went through,

3:10:00right?

3:10:01And in addition, I also wanted to

3:10:06work with folks in the community who

3:10:08grew up in the same environment that I

3:10:09grew up in.

3:10:11And

3:10:12to

3:10:13let them know that we they have

3:10:15resources

3:10:17or give them access to resources to not

3:10:20only improve their lives, but also uh

3:10:24to give them a better quality of life,

3:10:26just like I have, right?

3:10:28Um

3:10:31and

3:10:32for nearly 10 years

3:10:35uh that I've been free, been exonerated,

3:10:37um

3:10:38the Orleans

3:10:40Public Defenders, they gave me that

3:10:41opportunity to do just that work that I

3:10:43wanted to do, and I'm always grateful

3:10:45for that. And as a matter of fact, the

3:10:48reason why uh

3:10:49I'm still there. I've been there almost

3:10:5110 years.

3:10:53So, and you know, I'm I'm surrounded by

3:10:57real brilliant and passionate people uh

3:11:01who believe in justice and who want to

3:11:03help people. And frankly,

3:11:05they want to help people who look just

3:11:07like me cuz that's the majority

3:11:09of black and brown people we serve in

3:11:11this particular city.

3:11:12And that's over

3:11:14we used to say 85%. I think it's it's

3:11:16approaching almost 100% now because of

3:11:19all the things that's really happening

3:11:21in our uh

3:11:24government, our society, that a lot of

3:11:26people are falling I mean, they can't

3:11:27afford anything. And so, if they run

3:11:29into the system where they make a

3:11:30mistake or not, they're looking for a

3:11:32public defender.

3:11:35Uh and as you all know, and and and

3:11:38y'all

3:11:39y'all mentioned it yourselves, you know,

3:11:41our work go beyond the courtroom. You

3:11:44know, we connect people to the

3:11:46resources. We actually strengthen

3:11:48families.

3:11:49Uh we mentor individuals, and we partner

3:11:52with uh community partners. Uh it's like

3:11:55the

3:11:56guy I mentioned with uh the communities

3:11:57of hope 360 NODA. I'm a part of all that

3:12:01those coalitions, right?

3:12:03And we help people rebuild their lives

3:12:07um and prevent them from coming back and

3:12:11getting involved with the criminal legal

3:12:13system. And

3:12:15I I I also want you all to to take your

3:12:17own credit, right? I want you to take

3:12:19your credit because the events that you

3:12:22all put on within your own districts by

3:12:25bringing people the resources,

3:12:27all that help with the people and the

3:12:30agencies that we partner with that

3:12:32provide people with the necessary

3:12:34service they need to get people on the

3:12:37right track.

3:12:39To get people on the right track. So,

3:12:41not only that we defending folks, but we

3:12:44are getting them the necessary resources

3:12:46that they need

3:12:47to not only real not real friend, but

3:12:51merge into society as a good citizen,

3:12:53right? To provide for their families and

3:12:55different things that I need to and you

3:12:57all are a part of that, right? You all

3:12:58are a part of it as well. So, don't

3:13:00don't discredit yourself because of the

3:13:02things that you all do by bringing these

3:13:05events cuz I'm always a part of it. You

3:13:07know, either I'm partnering with you all

3:13:09or I'm there and I see that the

3:13:10resources that you are bringing to

3:13:12people within those communities.

3:13:14So, but I and I and I say that to say

3:13:16cuz I want you to when you think about

3:13:18funding public defense,

3:13:20you know, I want you to think about

3:13:23it's not just defending cases,

3:13:25you know, it's about investing in

3:13:27people,

3:13:29families,

3:13:31and the safety of our entire city.

3:13:34And like I said, you You

3:13:35we all we understand the difficult time

3:13:38that you're facing. I really hate that

3:13:39you're in position

3:13:42you know, in in the position to make

3:13:44these hard and tough decisions.

3:13:47But, I want you to consider that, you

3:13:49know, uh

3:13:51like cutting the public defender is not

3:13:52just dollars,

3:13:54but it impact our communities.

3:13:57And when people let lack

3:14:00the legal representation, access to

3:14:02critical services,

3:14:04you know, we risk and as we we we talked

3:14:07about it earlier, the increase of jail

3:14:09population, right?

3:14:11And it put a put a huge huge strain on

3:14:14our criminal justice system.

3:14:16And fewer people going to have the

3:14:17opportunity to have access to the

3:14:19resources that they need.

3:14:21Um

3:14:22and

3:14:24I hope I'm not keeping y'all too long,

3:14:26but I I can

3:14:27I can be too close to this because of my

3:14:29own personal experience. But, it's

3:14:31serious and it's real to me and I may

3:14:33can see the collateral consequences of

3:14:37of of a lot of these failures from a

3:14:39perspective that most of

3:14:42people here can't see,

3:14:44right?

3:14:45And

3:14:47and I know like I said that I lost

3:14:5320 plus years of my life, two decades

3:14:56and something, right? Crime did not

3:14:58commit.

3:14:59Uh

3:15:01the thing that I fear,

3:15:04the thing that I fear,

3:15:06and the reason why I'm going to tell you

3:15:07I have this fear,

3:15:09because when I was incarcerated I would

3:15:11work as an inmate counsel or what we

3:15:13classify as jailhouse lawyer, right?

3:15:16I worked with a lot of

3:15:18guys who

3:15:21had uh

3:15:23legal proceedings that was forfeited

3:15:25because they had underfunded public

3:15:27defenders.

3:15:28Uh and that's what's the old office

3:15:30does. The old office is defending the

3:15:32program.

3:15:33As a matter of fact, I'll tell a story.

3:15:35I used to file a lot of complaints

3:15:37against those attorneys at that office

3:15:40over the period of years.

3:15:43And when I stopped filing that those

3:15:45complaints, and there was getting less

3:15:46and less of complaints, actually that

3:15:47would make me want to go visit the

3:15:49Orleans Public Defender's Office cuz I

3:15:51see that they was actually doing a a

3:15:54better job, you know, uh opposed to

3:15:57what I was used to defending. And And

3:15:59what I tell you, a lot of those guys,

3:16:01and I'm not saying that they did those

3:16:04uh awful job intentionally, but they was

3:16:06underfunded. So, I know what it is when

3:16:08the underfund underfunded office look

3:16:10like. And a lot of those guys, and I can

3:16:13tell you, the things that I fear, I fear

3:16:16that all the progress and all the work

3:16:18that we done in this particular office

3:16:20cuz when I when I first came to this

3:16:22office nearly 10 years ago, people was

3:16:24calling us sellouts, we were losers, we

3:16:27was doing this,

3:16:28right? We didn't have no trust in the

3:16:30community. And we worked hard with the

3:16:33help of the City Council that got us to

3:16:35the to the level that we are now. We

3:16:37worked hard for that. So, I fear us

3:16:38losing that, right? I fear that

3:16:43all the progress that we made is going

3:16:45to bring back, not intentionally,

3:16:49it's going to bring back a lot of

3:16:52uh

3:16:52the old systems that was set in place.

3:16:55And

3:16:56the last thing is that a lot of those

3:16:59guys who had their rights that were

3:17:01forfeited,

3:17:02right? A lot of those guys, uh they're

3:17:05procedurally barred. And if you For for

3:17:07many of you all who know what the law

3:17:09is, when you're procedurally barred,

3:17:11that you can you can't move forward. And

3:17:14And that, like I said, is the worst is

3:17:15feared because a lot of those guys going

3:17:17to die in prison.

3:17:20They're actually going to die in prison.

3:17:22So, that's that's always one of my fears

3:17:26when we when we talk underfunded

3:17:27something that that we made so much

3:17:29progress in. So I just want us to just

3:17:31think about that and you know, as you

3:17:33said that

3:17:35public defenders and I know from my

3:17:37experience and and from working there is

3:17:39the essential glue to the criminal

3:17:42justice system because we got to defend

3:17:44those guys. We got not only that we got

3:17:45to defend those guys

3:17:47constitutionally, but we got to provide

3:17:49those guys with the necessary resources

3:17:51and the help to keep them from

3:17:53reoffending, reunite with their families

3:17:55and and building a safer and thriving

3:17:57community. Thank you all for your time.

3:18:02>> Thank you for having us today and

3:18:05for your continued hard work on the

3:18:07council.

3:18:08We're happy to answer any questions.

3:18:11>> Councilmember King.

3:18:13>> Uh Mr. Mr. Ed

3:18:16I'm going to say Danny. You uh you

3:18:18mentioned um

3:18:19the effects that a

3:18:21budget cuts will have on

3:18:23LCCR. I know it's a line item in your

3:18:25budget. Um

3:18:27can you can you

3:18:28expound on that? I don't think a lot of

3:18:30folks understand just how that that

3:18:33important the juvenile public defender's

3:18:35office is and

3:18:37how devastating those cuts may be or or

3:18:39or if not you, maybe Judge Judge Rome.

3:18:42I'm sorry. I I keep calling you Judge.

3:18:44Um

3:18:45Judge Rome.

3:18:47Uh

3:18:47>> Yes.

3:18:48Kristen

3:18:48>> Kristen Rome. We can one of just explain

3:18:51how important LCCR is to the juvenile

3:18:54justice system.

3:18:55>> Yeah. So they there's part of our budget

3:18:57is a pass-through to the LCCR and those

3:18:59have also been cut and the those cuts

3:19:01are going to have really drastic impacts

3:19:03on the both the combined defense of

3:19:06children

3:19:08LCCR does and also the the work that we

3:19:10do in representing children in New

3:19:12Orleans. Uh it takes

3:19:14so much work and

3:19:16to

3:19:18do

3:19:19uh to work with with children, but it's

3:19:21necessary work and it actually saves the

3:19:24city money in other ways, right? Because

3:19:27if we and what LCCR does in every day

3:19:31with their youth advocacy and their

3:19:32social worker and their lawyers working

3:19:34as teams and investigators, is they

3:19:36will, similarly to what we've been

3:19:38talking about, a young person will be in

3:19:40a better place through their work and

3:19:43their representation

3:19:45after they go through the juvenile court

3:19:47system than when they enter. And so,

3:19:49that not only is important for youth and

3:19:52their families, but for the community at

3:19:53large.

3:19:54>> Ms. Rome.

3:19:56>> Thank you, Danny, and thank you,

3:19:57Councilman King, and Council all council

3:19:59people. Um, I'm Kristen Rome. I'm the

3:20:01executive director of Louisiana Center

3:20:03for Children's Rights. Um, LCCR serves

3:20:05about 90% of the young people arrested

3:20:07in the city of New Orleans. Last year,

3:20:09that was 500. Um, so far this year,

3:20:12we've represented about 387 young

3:20:14people. Um, we absorbed some cuts last

3:20:18year, some cuts last year, about 31%

3:20:21along with the public defender's office,

3:20:23and because of that, and the way we did

3:20:25that was we cut our legal director, we

3:20:27reduced our supervising attorneys from

3:20:29two to one, and we reduced our client

3:20:31services team. I want to be very clear

3:20:33that an additional 8% cut will impact

3:20:37our services, and will make it so that

3:20:39we will have to cut additional staff and

3:20:41have some hiring freezes.

3:20:43That is a lot with only a team of five

3:20:46full-time attorneys and representing

3:20:47about 500 kids a year. Um, briefly, I'll

3:20:51speak about the return on investment for

3:20:52the city when you invest in LCCR.

3:20:56Um, again, as Danny said, we provide

3:20:58holistic defense. We support them with a

3:21:00team of wrap-around support these young

3:21:02people. This includes a social worker to

3:21:04address the root causes of arrest, and

3:21:06our model actually works. 96% of our

3:21:09clients have not been re-arrested into

3:21:11the youth system within 6 months of

3:21:13their case closing, and then 84% of our

3:21:16clients have not been re-arrested within

3:21:183 years. I also want to say we are

3:21:21working in close partnership with

3:21:22Orleans Public Defenders offices because

3:21:25we recognize if we are not serving young

3:21:27people well, they become OPD's clients.

3:21:30And so it's important to us that we stop

3:21:33at this very important moment to help

3:21:35young people. We support the attorneys

3:21:37there. We work in close partnership with

3:21:39them. We consider them colleagues. Just

3:21:41this week one of our former clients who

3:21:43is now represented by OPD because the

3:21:45case was transferred to adult court was

3:21:47having some head bumps with his

3:21:48attorney. He would not talk to his

3:21:50attorney. One of our staff members

3:21:52partnered with his attorney to go over

3:21:54to the Orleans Parish jail and talk to

3:21:56him and explain to him why he should

3:21:58talk to his attorney. This is the type

3:22:00of thing that is required with young

3:22:02people. It requires a lot of work, a lot

3:22:04of time for us to be there for young

3:22:07people. Um and and importantly, um the

3:22:10final thing that I really want this

3:22:11council to know is that for every dollar

3:22:14that the city of New Orleans gives us,

3:22:15LCCR brings in an additional $3 to serve

3:22:19arrested young people in our city. We

3:22:21leverage what the city does for us. And

3:22:23when the city partners in partners with

3:22:25us and invest with us, it means

3:22:27something. And we're able go to go to

3:22:29our philanthropic partners and to the

3:22:31federal government and say we have a

3:22:33city that is committed to young people

3:22:34doing well and they are then willing to

3:22:37invest in the wellness of our young

3:22:38people. So we've come a long way. Just a

3:22:40few years ago, there was a lot of talk

3:22:43about youth crime in our city and a big

3:22:45we were all in a tizzy about what to do.

3:22:47We have come a long way. We're not

3:22:49having that discussion today. And so I

3:22:51implore you, I will say to you

3:22:52Councilwoman Harris, I heard you say to

3:22:54a lot of people get your pencil out. We

3:22:56can't give you everything. Tell us what

3:22:57you need. We need $525,000.

3:23:00That is what the city gave us last year.

3:23:03We have absorbed those cuts. We made the

3:23:05adjustments that we needed to make. We

3:23:07cannot make additional adjustments

3:23:08without losing footing.

3:23:10Thank you.

3:23:11>> Thank you. And uh before you go to your

3:23:13seat, I want to say thank you and I

3:23:14shout out to

3:23:15to 709 Park Boulevard, baby Ben. I see

3:23:17you. There's Sarah over there.

3:23:19>> Right on. Right on.

3:23:19>> My selfie all babies been graduates.

3:23:22Thank you.

3:23:23>> And and and Councilman King, I mean

3:23:26all cuts are not created equal, as

3:23:27you've said. And when we cut the work on

3:23:30behalf of our children, our most

3:23:31vulnerable in our community, that has a

3:23:34much greater outsize impact on our city

3:23:36as a whole.

3:23:38>> Councilmember Moreno.

3:23:39>> Uh thank you. Um

3:23:41once again, I appreciate your

3:23:42presentation. I think sometimes

3:23:45uh we have to remind the public of what

3:23:49has happened previously because many

3:23:52people in the city do not remember what

3:23:54happened the last time the Orleans

3:23:56Parish Public Defender's Office

3:23:59had a significant cut and how it

3:24:01impacted services because many people

3:24:04weren't just paying attention at the

3:24:05time. Um as you may recall, uh when

3:24:08Derwyn was in your position, Danny, and

3:24:12it got to a point in the funding of your

3:24:16office that

3:24:18he felt and the office felt that they

3:24:20could no longer constitutionally provide

3:24:22services

3:24:23to their clients,

3:24:26they were left with two options. One is

3:24:27to accept no more clients, and two was

3:24:30to not

3:24:32provide services at all.

3:24:33And

3:24:35at that time, the entire criminal

3:24:37justice system pretty much ground to a

3:24:39halt almost immediately. And sometimes

3:24:43what people forget in this process is

3:24:45that in order for there to be a

3:24:48constitutional criminal justice system

3:24:50that functions appropriately, there has

3:24:52to be a prosecutor, and there has to be

3:24:54a defense lawyer. That is what is

3:24:56required under the Constitution. So, for

3:24:59so long with prior DAs and the prior

3:25:02system, it was

3:25:04let's give the DA's office all the money

3:25:07we can give it and let's give the public

3:25:09defender's office

3:25:11the bare minimum so that someone shows

3:25:14up

3:25:15to kind of stand [snorts] over there

3:25:17without any of the resources or

3:25:19necessary funding or necessary personnel

3:25:23to actually be able to do their job.

3:25:25>> That's right.

3:25:26>> And it was done so shamefully, it's so

3:25:29awfully. You had people like Robert who

3:25:31experienced the outcome of that. Because

3:25:33the you already have the powers and the

3:25:36resources of the state that are brought

3:25:38against each individual in a criminal

3:25:41justice proceeding

3:25:42to talk about just making sure the

3:25:45staffing is at a parity level is really

3:25:48the bare minimum.

3:25:50And

3:25:52as you said previously and I don't want

3:25:53to rehash it

3:25:55the system working requires your office

3:25:58to work. Because if we get to a point

3:26:01where your office is not appropriately

3:26:03funded to either do its job or can't

3:26:07represent other people, it doesn't

3:26:09matter what we do at the state level to

3:26:11expedite processes. If they do not have

3:26:14legal representation, the case can't

3:26:16move forward.

3:26:17So like when I keep using that analogy

3:26:19of like with criminal justice, the

3:26:20different cogs, the different widgets,

3:26:22you're pretty significantly sized cog

3:26:26because if you take your office and

3:26:28representation

3:26:30out of the machine

3:26:32there's nothing else. I mean, the cops

3:26:34could do their job, the DA could do her

3:26:35job, the sheriff could do her job. You

3:26:38literally cannot move the case to an

3:26:40end. Even to a conviction or acquittal,

3:26:44you can't schedule hearings. If there is

3:26:46no lawyer for the defense

3:26:49there is no case.

3:26:51>> Mhm.

3:26:51>> And as bad as we complain about the

3:26:54prison population today

3:26:57if tomorrow your office

3:26:59was in a position where they could no

3:27:01longer take new clients,

3:27:03you would put the criminal

3:27:07the criminal court judges in a position

3:27:10where they would have to go out and

3:27:11start assigning cases to private

3:27:13attorneys,

3:27:15and that is something that's done before

3:27:17been done before, and it is an

3:27:18unmitigated train wreck.

3:27:20Because you can't just stick any lawyer

3:27:23in a position to represent a criminal

3:27:25client. One, there are

3:27:28there are significant requirements for

3:27:31capital and felony cases above a certain

3:27:34level. So, you can't just grab somebody,

3:27:36some older gentleman who's a real estate

3:27:38lawyer, and go, "We've got a murder

3:27:40here. This is yours." There are

3:27:42proven cases, Supreme Court case law

3:27:45that says you have to have requisite

3:27:47experience to handle these significant

3:27:50cases.

3:27:52And then, beyond that, if you don't have

3:27:55a criminal uh practice background,

3:27:58then the case never ends because that

3:28:00becomes the basis of appeals anyway.

3:28:02Because if you have inadequate

3:28:03representation, which

3:28:06anybody will know after they after

3:28:10they get a real estate lawyer doing

3:28:12their felony uh theft case, who doesn't

3:28:14call any witnesses or doesn't go through

3:28:17all the footage like you guys do,

3:28:19then that client you were trying to get

3:28:21resolution for, whether they're guilty

3:28:23or innocent or whatever, the case

3:28:25perpetuates itself because

3:28:28their rights were violated and the

3:28:30process wasn't met. So, to your point,

3:28:34as uh

3:28:35as Councilwoman Harris has said

3:28:36repeatedly, I think everyone on the

3:28:37council is kind of being candid with

3:28:39everyone, including the DA's sitting out

3:28:41there,

3:28:42we certainly are never going to tell you

3:28:44we can make everyone whole. It's just

3:28:45not possible under this budget.

3:28:48But we certainly will take into account

3:28:50that we have to do what's possible to

3:28:53make you more whole, so you can do your

3:28:55job. Because you're as important to the

3:28:57system

3:28:59probably more important than people

3:29:01understand

3:29:03for all of this to move forward. So, we

3:29:04appreciate you being here today.

3:29:06Appreciate LCCR

3:29:08especially. I know that

3:29:10we're working with juvenile court

3:29:12regarding the hearing officer to make

3:29:14sure that they move in their process as

3:29:16well, but it is going to be a whole lot

3:29:18of Sophie's Choice and robbing Peter to

3:29:20pay Paul to get things done. Thank you.

3:29:23>> No, no, no, no, don't get up. Don't get

3:29:24up. Yeah.

3:29:25>> [laughter]

3:29:26>> Cuz we have cards, but I also need to

3:29:27ask a couple of questions. Can you go to

3:29:29your

3:29:30but 2026 budget summary page?

3:29:34All right, cuz I have a lot of different

3:29:36numbers floating around including from

3:29:39your template and then

3:29:41my staff is showing me something.

3:29:43Can for the thousands of people who are

3:29:45watching, this is a tribute to

3:29:47Councilmember Green.

3:29:50Can you go in that slider is the system

3:29:51not working?

3:29:53>> Right there.

3:29:54>> What amount of money are you asking?

3:29:56>> So, if we that number which includes the

3:29:59LCCR pass-through is what we are

3:30:01requesting.

3:30:02>> Which number?

3:30:03>> The 12 million 380 and we currently are

3:30:06proposed at

3:30:08at seven. So, that is obviously a very

3:30:10big difference

3:30:11>> Right.

3:30:12>> to to make us whole. That is

3:30:16um

3:30:18That is to make up for the cuts for 2025

3:30:21and 2026 because

3:30:23um a year ago both the district attorney

3:30:26office and

3:30:27and the public defenders were told, "We

3:30:29want you to keep your operations going.

3:30:31>> Right.

3:30:32>> These 31% [clears throat]

3:30:33cuts which are

3:30:34higher than anyone, use your reserves it

3:30:36to to to cop to cover that and we have

3:30:39and that's come to the end and it's and

3:30:40it's and there's no more time to do

3:30:42that.

3:30:43>> All right, but if we took you back to

3:30:45sort of your

3:30:472026 actuals, that shaves off about a

3:30:50million dollars.

3:30:52>> Yeah.

3:30:52>> You know, again, I'm not I'm I'm just

3:30:55being honest with everyone and this is,

3:30:57you know, what Council member Arroyo

3:30:58>> you need, not what you want.

3:30:59>> Yeah, like really, what do you need?

3:31:02>> Yeah, so I

3:31:03I'm excited about this plan to get and

3:31:06we're committed both across the system

3:31:08with with the District Attorney's office

3:31:10to safely get that jail to under 1,000.

3:31:13We can do that. If we were get to get

3:31:15that actual budget, we can do that. We

3:31:17can do it.

3:31:18>> You can You can do that with the 11

3:31:20million 440?

3:31:21>> Correct.

3:31:22Right, we can do that. We can commit to

3:31:23that. Now, if we are going to come

3:31:25somewhere between this the

3:31:28the current proposed budget for us and

3:31:30LCCR of seven and that number, we'll be

3:31:34we we can limp along and not do the

3:31:36drastic cuts as much as we did we we are

3:31:38planning to, but it will not get the the

3:31:41results that this Council and the

3:31:43community want.

3:31:45>> Okay, I again, I just see people and

3:31:47this goes for the

3:31:49presenters, the thousands of people who

3:31:51have presented so far cuz it feels like

3:31:52it.

3:31:53Just be realistic. I I get aspirational,

3:31:56but what we need is real because we all

3:31:58have to be real about the money that we

3:31:59don't have.

3:32:00>> 100% 100% and and I you know, I just

3:32:02think, you know,

3:32:04I know whether it's revenue generation

3:32:06or finding it from other places,

3:32:09uh

3:32:09the amount to make us either whole or

3:32:12partially whole is relatively

3:32:14insignificant to even what we spend in

3:32:17the criminal legal system of over a

3:32:19third of our budget for for jail and

3:32:21policing and and prosecuting.

3:32:23>> I know those NOPD and jail budgets well,

3:32:25so I hear what you're saying. All right,

3:32:27with that, Lisa Marie Rhodes.

3:32:29And look, uh the timer's not working, so

3:32:31I'm going to time you and tell you when

3:32:34it's 2 minutes.

3:32:53>> Go ahead.

3:32:54>> Buenas tardes. My name is Lisa Maria

3:32:57Rhodes. I live at 3612 Bank Street.

3:32:59I'm the founder and executive director

3:33:01of ALAS, and this is my 18th year as an

3:33:03educator and social worker in New

3:33:05Orleans.

3:33:06At ALAS, we provide leadership

3:33:07development for young people who are

3:33:09facing criminal court or immigration

3:33:11court. And the way that vulnerable youth

3:33:14facing criminal court are connected to

3:33:15ALAS is through the Youth Public

3:33:17Defender at LCCR.

3:33:20Both LCCR and OPD continue to partner

3:33:22with us to provide deep wraparound

3:33:25supports that allow our young people to

3:33:26be kids, to feel safe, to walk in their

3:33:29purpose, and to share their God-given

3:33:32gifts and talents with our community.

3:33:35Danny also mentioned that this saves the

3:33:37city money, and so I just want to share

3:33:38a few examples with you.

3:33:40Kayla is caring for the unhoused

3:33:42population now. Maria is a nail

3:33:44technician who opened her November slots

3:33:46today, and they're already full. Naveah

3:33:48is studying social work in college.

3:33:51Lorenzo is a dedicated father who's so

3:33:53proud that he just took his kids to

3:33:54Disney World.

3:33:55Kimberly is a high school senior who is

3:33:58a candidate for the Posse Scholarship.

3:34:00Jerriana is coaching elementary kids.

3:34:03Marvin will greet you with a smile at

3:34:05the Audubon Aquarium.

3:34:07Wayne just finished a 2-year associate's

3:34:09degree in 1 year through Next Level

3:34:10NOLA. Norma just joined the military and

3:34:13got her first assignment. Montrell's in

3:34:16his high school marching band, and he

3:34:17will make us all very happy at Mardi

3:34:18Gras.

3:34:19Taj is so excited to be the father he

3:34:21didn't have to his newborn daughter.

3:34:24Valerie just won student government rep

3:34:26and Miss Sophomore.

3:34:28Yazmine is doing her master's at Tulane.

3:34:32Ronald became a high school teacher and

3:34:34football coach at Carver, and Derek is

3:34:36working at the Department of Education.

3:34:40So, I say all this to say it is

3:34:42imperative that all community members

3:34:44feel safe and when public defenders can

3:34:46fully do their job, they positively

3:34:49impact community health and safety by

3:34:51providing entry points to care and the

3:34:53support that we all deserve. So, thank

3:34:55you.

3:34:56>> Thank you.

3:34:57Uh Kristen Rome, do you want to speak

3:34:59again or you're good? All right. Sierra

3:35:01Chenier?

3:35:12>> Good afternoon. Um 1100 B Milton Street.

3:35:16Good afternoon. My name is Sierra

3:35:17Chenier. I'm the strategic storyteller

3:35:20at Louisiana Center for Children's

3:35:21Rights. I regularly hold storytelling

3:35:24circles with young people in the

3:35:26juvenile jail to elevate their voices

3:35:28and pursue a narrative that communicates

3:35:30the humanity of black New Orleans

3:35:32children. This includes their published

3:35:35essays and poems in the lens and their

3:35:37co-authorship of the Youth Justice

3:35:39Language and Ethics Guide.

3:35:41Programming like mine offers the

3:35:43education, empowerment, structure,

3:35:46resources, and care that many of the

3:35:48kids have repeatedly stated, "If I

3:35:51received stuff like this growing up, I

3:35:52would have never ended up here."

3:35:55To disinvest in youth programming in

3:35:57JJIC communicates to these children that

3:35:59we do not care about their growth,

3:36:01success, or well-being and limits the

3:36:04staff capacity necessary to offer this

3:36:06programming.

3:36:08A child once told me that he didn't know

3:36:10he had anxiety until he went to jail. At

3:36:13no point in his life had he ever

3:36:15received counseling or therapy prior to

3:36:17receiving grief services in JJIC.

3:36:21I reviewed the city's proposed 2027

3:36:23budget with the young people and their

3:36:25immediate response was, "Wait, all this

3:36:28for the police?

3:36:29Where are we on here?"

3:36:31Instead of cutting public defense, youth

3:36:34programming, or so many of the other

3:36:36cuts to necessary community and social

3:36:38services in this budget. They drafted a

3:36:41youth budget with the following

3:36:42priorities: economic development,

3:36:45well-paying job opportunities for ages

3:36:4715 and up, health and human services for

3:36:50family counseling and mental health,

3:36:53parks and neighborhoods. One child told

3:36:55me to tell y'all, "Can we make our

3:36:57neighborhoods a village?"

3:36:59Housing affordability, so we don't have

3:37:01to take care of our families at 15,

3:37:04and court systems. One child

3:37:06specifically named more support of

3:37:08public defense because these are the

3:37:10people who have my life in their hands.

3:37:12Thank you.

3:37:13>> Thank you.

3:37:14Judge Calvin Johnson.

3:37:17And how am I going to limit you to 2

3:37:19minutes?

3:37:22>> And good afternoon.

3:37:24It is a joy to be in this space with all

3:37:26of you. This is a joy for me always. Uh

3:37:29I have heard a little of what what Danny

3:37:32uh I said. I didn't hear it all. I

3:37:35didn't hear anything of what the DA

3:37:36said. I put on my card I came to talk

3:37:39for both of them, actually. But I didn't

3:37:42hear what the DA actually said. But one

3:37:44of the things that I think I heard some,

3:37:48and I hope the DA added more,

3:37:50is is where a lot of your cost is. That

3:37:53is is where a lot of the city's cost is,

3:37:56and that's the jail.

3:37:58And to be able to get the jail under a

3:38:01thousand people will save could save the

3:38:05city a tremendous amount of money. Now,

3:38:07how how do you do that, though? And to

3:38:09do it you have to obviously you have to

3:38:12have a combination of the two working

3:38:14together. It's impossible otherwise. You

3:38:16also have to have the judges working

3:38:18with them. And I don't know where they

3:38:20are or were today if they were here

3:38:22today, but you have to have them working

3:38:24with them. But it also entails actually

3:38:27city your office, that is is uh,

3:38:30Daniel's office, Jake's office working

3:38:33with them because that office gives a

3:38:35lot of data. It gives them information

3:38:38about who's actually in jail. And so,

3:38:41when you look at across certain

3:38:42populations in jail, you see what the

3:38:45cost leaders are. That is is

3:38:47where where those people who are in jail

3:38:50are in jail too long, and that's that

3:38:52drives cost, and where you can dive in

3:38:55in quickness in terms of releasing

3:38:58people from jail. However,

3:39:00all parts of this system, the judges,

3:39:03the DA, the public defender, must

3:39:05recognize public safety is the first

3:39:08consideration. But, balancing public

3:39:12safety with with the two of them, the

3:39:15three of them, aggressively looking

3:39:17across the populations. There is I'll

3:39:20give you just a little insight in terms

3:39:22of population in populations if I can

3:39:24get this

3:39:25>> Now, now y'all, whoever's controlling

3:39:27this, you you know, you can't cut off

3:39:29judge.

3:39:30>> [laughter]

3:39:32>> Look, just recognize in two months Look,

3:39:35in two months I'll be 80, and I'm trying

3:39:37to do this, okay? So, give me give me

3:39:39some grace.

3:39:41>> [laughter]

3:39:41>> Yes, indeed. And I will be able

3:39:45uh, to do it. Okay, here here are some

3:39:47populations of people.

3:39:49You you have those who have been

3:39:51sentenced to the Department of

3:39:53Corrections and how quickly they can get

3:39:55out of jail because having them in jail

3:39:58raises your cost because they are here

3:40:00and not there. It raises your cost. So,

3:40:02moving that quickly, DOC has to work

3:40:05with them to do that quickly, but they

3:40:08are doing it. That's a good thing. They

3:40:10are doing it. What we have seen, those

3:40:12of us who look closely at the

3:40:13population, what they have seen is that

3:40:16in the last 3 months or so, they have

3:40:18been able to get out of that jail over

3:40:20100 people. That's what's kept the

3:40:23number in that jail actually below

3:40:251,500. But anyway, that's one

3:40:27population. Municipal offenders,

3:40:30y'all This is

3:40:32I wish the DA was here, and he is, cuz I

3:40:34look over here at him. Because I

3:40:36I argue with them why we have municipal

3:40:40offenders in jail for countless days.

3:40:44And again, this is a population of

3:40:45people, if they come in the court on any

3:40:48day they come in and plead guilty,

3:40:50they're going home.

3:40:51So, if they're going to go home on any

3:40:53day they come in, why are they getting

3:40:55to go come in the next day to where they

3:40:56are? That's That's how that population

3:40:58work. We have parole violators. We have

3:41:01probation violators. And you look across

3:41:03the list of state, and this is data

3:41:05y'all y'all can see.

3:41:07Cuz I'm I've seen it. But, you look

3:41:09across those populations, and again, how

3:41:11long are they there? How you can get

3:41:13them out quicker? And this way, a

3:41:15combination of the two can get that

3:41:18done. But, they can't

3:41:20this group can't get it done effectively

3:41:23without having the pieces in their

3:41:25system that works to I mean,

3:41:28aggressively with a population that

3:41:30comes in. There and there, I heard him

3:41:31describe a guy who goes to Odyssey

3:41:33House. That's social workers who do

3:41:35that. The The judges have data

3:41:40that shows in low-risk populations, that

3:41:43is is those Let me back up. The judges

3:41:46in the judges system, everyone who comes

3:41:49in is risk-assessed.

3:41:52They use that process, that piece to

3:41:54assess how great the risk is for them to

3:41:57be released. Those low-risk individuals

3:42:00who are released,

3:42:02who then are represented by the public

3:42:05defenders,

3:42:06the likelihood that they will come back

3:42:09to jail is less than 10%. It's actually

3:42:12around 6.5%.

3:42:14I'm going to try this again, y'all. That

3:42:16population who released, that who they

3:42:19represent, that's what happens. It

3:42:21happens though because the public

3:42:24defender is working directly with these

3:42:26other pieces parts that you fund. You

3:42:29fund instead you fund Ubuntu and never

3:42:33pronounce it that correctly, but you do.

3:42:36They work directly those social workers

3:42:38work directly with those programs and

3:42:40directly with the Odyssey houses, the

3:42:42youth empowerment projects, the the

3:42:44Center for Saints, all of those pieces

3:42:47parts. But the the lawyers can't do

3:42:50that. I say can't do that. They can't

3:42:52they don't have the time to do to make

3:42:55those efforts. So you need them as a

3:42:57part of it.

3:42:59And I'm running out of breath and I'm

3:43:00going to shut up. But anyways, I'm not

3:43:02going to shut up just yet. I'm like a

3:43:03Baptist preacher. I'm not going to shut

3:43:04up yet. If in fact the judges and the DA

3:43:09and the public defender work

3:43:12consistently together recognizing

3:43:15that you can get below a thousand if you

3:43:18do it quickly and you do it aggressively

3:43:21and you do it together

3:43:23and and you make sure that public safety

3:43:28is assessed at every release and you're

3:43:31releasing people based on your knowledge

3:43:34that through those things that you do,

3:43:37the population New Orleans will still be

3:43:39safe. That's my talk.

3:43:41>> Thank you, Judge.

3:43:42>> Thank you all very much.

3:43:43>> helpful.

3:43:44>> Yes, indeed.

3:43:44>> Councilmember Wheeler?

3:43:46>> All right. Thank you, Madam Chair.

3:43:49>> I'm I'm out of order. I am out of order.

3:43:51Let's uh get Sarah to speak and then you

3:43:53can wrap it up.

3:43:56>> Hi y'all. Um I'll be super fast. Sarah

3:43:59O'Dwyer of Vera Louisiana and also Big

3:44:02Easy City Budget Coalition. Um you've

3:44:05heard all of the things. Um we care

3:44:07about um addressing the root causes of

3:44:10crime, violence, and involvement in the

3:44:12criminal legal system and what we know

3:44:14is that our criminal legal system is the

3:44:16catch basin of all other systemic

3:44:18failures, which is why um LCCR and OPD

3:44:21are doing so many other things in

3:44:23addition to uh defense. Um and I think

3:44:27what's what the only thing that I'll

3:44:29really lift up is that that ROI is um

3:44:32the return on investment is super

3:44:33important because not funding these

3:44:35services means that we're spending about

3:44:3743,000 to 91,000, I think from the

3:44:41uh sheriff's estimate, on jailing people

3:44:44per year per person. So, 43,000 to

3:44:4791,000 dollars per year on on jailing

3:44:50people. And so, um all of the, you know,

3:44:52wrap-around services, the um

3:44:55the uh uh

3:44:56youth advocates, uh connections to other

3:44:59programs and advocacy, all of that stuff

3:45:00is super super important. And so, they

3:45:03have the math. Um I also, lawyer who

3:45:05does not care about math, can't do math.

3:45:07Um

3:45:08I'm sorry, my parents going to be so

3:45:09mad. I used to know how to do math. But,

3:45:11all of that to say that they have the

3:45:13numbers and and I think the very minimum

3:45:15just to keep the services going is like

3:45:17what we are um

3:45:19really advocating for and and there is a

3:45:22lot of support across the city on,

3:45:24obviously. Okay, that's it.

3:45:25>> Thank you, Sarah. Council Member Weller.

3:45:27>> Thank you, Sarah.

3:45:27>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh Danny, Meg,

3:45:30thank y'all, Robert, thank y'all for

3:45:31coming down today. Um few questions.

3:45:35>> [clears throat]

3:45:35>> First, uh I'm going to get into some of

3:45:37the budget stuff. What are the adult

3:45:39conflict attorneys? When I was reviewing

3:45:41your your stuff, I I

3:45:43>> So, that is about 20% of our

3:45:45representation is is our people that are

3:45:48considered legal conflicts that have to

3:45:50have separate

3:45:52separate law firm, separate uh

3:45:54attorneys that are not part of our

3:45:55full-time staff that do that

3:45:58representation. So, uh and uh those are

3:46:01for, like if you two co-defendants in a

3:46:03case, one is goes to the conflict panel

3:46:06or our conflict division, one goes to

3:46:07our

3:46:08>> So, you can only represent one person in

3:46:10that party.

3:46:11>> Yeah, and then there are also other

3:46:12layers of why we can't represent

3:46:13someone. For instance, if we have

3:46:15confidential and privileged information

3:46:17about a witness in the main part of the

3:46:19office, we cannot represent the person

3:46:21accused where that witness is the

3:46:23complainant.

3:46:23>> So, you have to contract that out. Got

3:46:25it. Um

3:46:29A lot of vacancies. Um chief of trials

3:46:32position, I mean, that's

3:46:34I would imagine is is pretty tough. Um a

3:46:37lot of staff attorney positions.

3:46:40Um

3:46:42And you said right now you have about 40

3:46:44unfilled positions due to that hiring

3:46:47freeze.

3:46:47>> Yes, we we, you know, pretty much with

3:46:50that chief of trials, uh a lot of the

3:46:53contract lawyers, uh 27 contract

3:46:56lawyers, a lot of other fulfilled

3:46:58unfilled positions. You know, just to

3:47:01get us to where we are

3:47:03functioning properly,

3:47:05we got to fill at least 20 of those

3:47:06positions. And this current budget takes

3:47:08us 20 in the opposite direction.

3:47:12>> Okay.

3:47:13Um

3:47:15I mean, you talked about the real world

3:47:17real world impacts of not not having

3:47:21those positions filled.

3:47:23Um

3:47:24it's troubling, to say the least. Um I

3:47:27think you guys provide essential

3:47:29services. Um you know, I've worked

3:47:31closely

3:47:32uh with your office over the years, and

3:47:35um

3:47:36um I think this is going to have to be a

3:47:38priority for us to figure out what we

3:47:40can do to um help bridge that gap. Um

3:47:44What about your reserve accounts right

3:47:46now? Do you have anything in reserve?

3:47:48Have you depleted those?

3:47:50>> We expect the We initially had thought

3:47:53we could get to the middle of 2027

3:47:55before we got to our break point on that

3:47:57reserves, but that actually that month

3:47:59is moved closer to February or March.

3:48:03And one of the reasons is um I think

3:48:05Council Member Ryu talked about the

3:48:06difference in what a Happy Meal costs

3:48:08now and a Happy Meal Meal costs just a

3:48:11few years ago.

3:48:12Our overall costs just keep increasing

3:48:14year in year out. We have an additional

3:48:16$300,000 that just got sprung on us for

3:48:19expenses for health care just a few

3:48:21weeks ago. So, that is as those happen

3:48:24and, you know, how the revenues have did

3:48:27been um going down like the traffic

3:48:31camera revenues that just got turned

3:48:32off.

3:48:33Uh

3:48:34That's where that number or that month

3:48:36of um where we are going to hit that

3:48:39break point gets closer and closer.

3:48:42>> Um

3:48:43have you guys ever done an evaluation or

3:48:47study to look at

3:48:49um

3:48:50bringing private investigators, social

3:48:52workers in-house as opposed to

3:48:54contracting with them?

3:48:55>> We have had some We actually have had

3:48:58what we call a conflict division.

3:49:00>> Okay.

3:49:00>> And we are actually have restarted that

3:49:03as it does save money.

3:49:05>> Okay, so you're working on that right

3:49:06now.

3:49:07>> that up and running and and

3:49:09uh but there will never be a day which

3:49:10we we don't have to contract out because

3:49:13there's there's just

3:49:14>> Too much work over

3:49:15>> There's just all these different layers

3:49:16of um conflict of interest that even two

3:49:19layers of a main office and a conflict

3:49:21division

3:49:22um there're always going to be a need

3:49:24for contract lawyers.

3:49:25>> Okay. And then I noticed that um many of

3:49:27the grants that you've secured over the

3:49:30last 5 years are kind of

3:49:32exhausted or have gone away. Um is there

3:49:35anybody um who works for you that that

3:49:39applies for and and looks at grant

3:49:41opportunities?

3:49:42>> Yes, we we very much aggressively pursue

3:49:44that and Lindsey Hortenstine, our Deputy

3:49:46CEO and Director of Communications and

3:49:48Development, has brought in millions of

3:49:50dollars to our office in in our close to

3:49:53two decades of public service.

3:49:55Uh yes, we need that is something we're

3:49:57always looking for, but I'll give you a

3:49:58a good news example. We have partnered

3:50:01uh with state uh Office of the public

3:50:04defender office and the federal

3:50:05government to fund our child in need of

3:50:07care work through a federal grant and

3:50:10you'll see in our budget that's over a

3:50:11hundred thousand of additional revenue

3:50:13from that grant that supports our family

3:50:16defense teams.

3:50:17We consistently put in for the burn jag

3:50:21positions. Many of our staff have come

3:50:24through grants. We even got a grant

3:50:26several years ago through the Department

3:50:28of Corrections and their justice

3:50:29reinvestment initiative where we were

3:50:31able to hire four

3:50:33four social workers and then with when

3:50:35the parity law was passed to absorb them

3:50:37into staff.

3:50:38>> Okay. Um

3:50:39>> But yes, it is a finding creative ways

3:50:42to do additional

3:50:44uh

3:50:45revenues has always been one of the

3:50:47things we're doing. I'll just give you

3:50:48one other example council member what

3:50:51what it is that

3:50:52uh

3:50:53one of the things we are asking for even

3:50:55though we're in a hiring freeze is

3:50:56trying to get law school to fund

3:50:58fellowships for this coming fall and

3:51:01even no matter what you do here today

3:51:03and in the coming weeks that'll be

3:51:04continued to be a way that we bring

3:51:06additional dollars to New Orleans.

3:51:08>> Okay.

3:51:09Uh thank y'all for what y'all are doing.

3:51:11>> Council member, I just wanted to

3:51:12I just wanted to add quickly that it's

3:51:14important to note that the landscape of

3:51:16of grants both

3:51:18um

3:51:18>> Oh what?

3:51:19>> both state and local and

3:51:20>> Substantially have changed.

3:51:22>> a lot, right? And there's a lot of

3:51:23>> of strings attached to.

3:51:25>> Yeah, that we've had in private years

3:51:26that um especially with private funders

3:51:29are moving away from direct service. So

3:51:32where we had sort of a larger gap, a

3:51:34larger pot of money to to look into and

3:51:36pull from those are those are shifting

3:51:39their priorities to system changes and

3:51:43and larger scale issues rather than

3:51:45those direct service um initiatives that

3:51:47are really helpful for us.

3:51:49>> Got it. Thank y'all. Thank you.

3:51:51>> Thank y'all for being here and thank you

3:51:53for putting the pencil to paper.

3:51:55We appreciate y'all and we appreciate

3:51:57all the community members who came to

3:51:58support us.

3:51:59>> Thank you.

3:52:00>> And last but not least, public safety

3:52:02and support.

3:52:04I think Ross just stepped out.

3:52:18>> Nope.

3:52:23>> Chair

3:52:25He's like, "Where?"

3:52:31>> It's like going home.

3:52:33It's like going home.

3:52:36Yes, we are.

3:52:37Yeah.

3:52:51>> The advocacy was not free.

3:52:54>> You want

3:52:56>> You drive terrible. No wonder all these

3:52:58people are stuck in jail.

3:53:01Limited vision?

3:53:02>> I think

3:53:05Yeah.

3:53:07>> All right, Ross. Whenever you're ready.

3:53:09>> That's That's the

3:53:11Thank you.

3:53:13Yes, sir.

3:53:16>> Good afternoon, Madam Chair, council

3:53:17members. Ross Bultwal, director of

3:53:19public safety support for the city of

3:53:20New Orleans. I certainly appreciate the

3:53:23um

3:53:24consideration that y'all have given me

3:53:26um

3:53:27in the in rescheduling to assist in my

3:53:29ongoing recovery from surgery. Um but I

3:53:33So, I'm very happy to be here. Um the

3:53:36office of public safety support consists

3:53:38of uh a couple of different areas. Most

3:53:41notably is the real-time crime center.

3:53:43It's a a good percentage of our of our

3:53:46folks. That's the folks outlined I

3:53:48outlined in um in blue. Our grounds

3:53:51patrol division in purple,

3:53:53um our IT staff that maintain all of our

3:53:56um technological infrastructure for the

3:53:58crime center

3:53:59in in yellow, and our citywide

3:54:01electronics support section, which is

3:54:03the citywide radio shop that manages um

3:54:07over 3,000 devices used by uh not only

3:54:11the public safety agencies, but the

3:54:14non-public safety operational agencies

3:54:16like parkways and sanitation and public

3:54:18works. That that tier two radio system

3:54:21is also managed by the two employees um

3:54:25highlighted in green.

3:54:28Our proposed budget

3:54:31Our 2026 adopted budget was $3,560,470.

3:54:37Our 2027 proposed budget is $3,366,948

3:54:44with a variance of a 193,

3:54:47a cut of 193,522.

3:54:50As it relates to other operating, our

3:54:52requests Our 2026 adopted was four 4.361

3:54:58million, and our 2027 proposed

3:55:02is 2.193

3:55:04with a variance of 2.168.

3:55:08For

3:55:09bringing that total, that's 7.921

3:55:13compared to this year's 5.559

3:55:17to to be a reduction of $2,361,522.

3:55:23To unpack that a little bit, as it

3:55:25relates to personnel, personnel

3:55:27the personnel reductions from the

3:55:29general fund

3:55:30is certain grounds patrol personnel, the

3:55:33basically all of the the grounds patrol

3:55:35personnel that are funded by the general

3:55:38fund are going to be reduced. Um we have

3:55:41we have created an additional IT

3:55:43specialist position, so we've converted

3:55:46a contract a vendor-led position to an

3:55:49in-house position. So, we have one

3:55:50additional IT specialist, but that did

3:55:53result in a $30,000 annual cost savings.

3:55:57Um as it relates to our other operation,

3:55:59the the largest

3:56:01portion of that reduction is going to be

3:56:04um the elimination of contract private

3:56:07security services at City Hall, the VA

3:56:11Hospital campus, Juvenile Court, and the

3:56:14Armstrong Park complex. So, that's that

3:56:16That's that reduction of $1.8 million

3:56:19from um from our general fund

3:56:22to eliminate that it that entire line

3:56:25item.

3:56:26Um in addition, we're going to

3:56:27transition to a more robust video

3:56:29evidence platform over the course of the

3:56:31next year.

3:56:34For our non-general fund related um

3:56:38budget,

3:56:39this year uh there's no other operating.

3:56:41It was all personnel. 2026, we had

3:56:44$638,391.

3:56:47Our um proposed budget includes $466,906

3:56:53for a variance of $171,485.

3:56:56Um the

3:56:58the personnelists that are non-general

3:57:00fund are are the ground patrol personnel

3:57:02that are funded that are assigned to and

3:57:04funded by the French Market. The

3:57:07variation The variance is um

3:57:10some ARPA-funded positions that are

3:57:13rolling off at the end of this year. Um

3:57:15and obviously, we had no other operating

3:57:17for either year requested.

3:57:22This year, we did

3:57:24for to As it relates to our budget

3:57:26efficiencies, we reduced our over

3:57:28our overall network backhaul costs,

3:57:30which is primarily serviced by Cox,

3:57:33while adding additional devices by

3:57:35leveraging wireless technology. So, our

3:57:37staff were

3:57:39placing one more than one camera on a

3:57:41particular Cox account to absorb, you

3:57:44know, so we can eliminate those Cox

3:57:45accounts and we've been very strategic

3:57:48when we needed to add additional cameras

3:57:51to make sure that we could uh place them

3:57:54and get the desired effect of the

3:57:56desired amount of coverage, but to place

3:57:58them within a predetermined area next to

3:58:01a an a nearby Cox service so that we

3:58:03could add the camera without increasing

3:58:05that back haul cost.

3:58:08We negotiated an extension to our

3:58:09contract and I appreciate the council uh

3:58:13recently approving that um to to keep

3:58:16our security contract pricing the same

3:58:19through the end of 2026 so we didn't

3:58:21have an increase this year.

3:58:24And as I mentioned earlier, we reduced

3:58:25our dependency on an outside vendor by

3:58:28bringing a position in-house resulting

3:58:30in an annual cost savings of about

3:58:32$30,000.

3:58:35In 2027, we're going to transition to a

3:58:38more robust video management platform

3:58:40that's going to provide better forensic

3:58:42value to the videos that that are placed

3:58:45there.

3:58:46Um

3:58:47in this budget includes five additional

3:58:49public safety cameras for each council

3:58:51district. Um five per council district.

3:58:55And we're going to work with uh OPCD and

3:58:58NOCTM staff to find some alternative

3:59:01funding sources for the additional

3:59:04dispatch consoles and I'm sure Carl will

3:59:06mention this when he comes. The current

3:59:08dispatch consoles over at OPCD are at

3:59:11end of life coming up in 2030. So it's

3:59:14very important that um we find some sort

3:59:17of non-general fund related um

3:59:21some grant funding to replace those.

3:59:23Hopefully we can replace a third of them

3:59:25a year over the next 3 years so that we

3:59:28in 2030 we're not looking at a a big

3:59:31number. We can spread that out over over

3:59:33the course of perhaps three grant years.

3:59:36Um our building, we're working with

3:59:39capital projects for that hardening.

3:59:41Obviously, that's that is that has been

3:59:43a um

3:59:44that's a long process. Obviously, our

3:59:47building suffered uh severe damage in

3:59:502021. That's been largely unrepaired to

3:59:54this date. So, we we have just started

3:59:57this week in replacing the windows. So,

3:59:59that's

4:00:00very positive news. So, we're going to

4:00:02we're going to hopefully next year

4:00:05uh drag that elephant across the finish

4:00:06line.

4:00:09>> That's it, Ross?

4:00:10>> Yes, ma'am.

4:00:10>> All right, I have a couple questions. Uh

4:00:12the reduction of certain grounds patrol

4:00:14personnel,

4:00:15where are these personnel dispatched?

4:00:18>> The they're assigned to uh three of them

4:00:20are assigned to the Lafitte Greenway.

4:00:23Um three of them are assigned to

4:00:25city-owned cemeteries.

4:00:29Three of them are assigned to Well, two

4:00:32of them are assigned to Joe Brown Park.

4:00:34And one of them is a just an overall

4:00:36supervisor.

4:00:39>> So, it's 10 people total.

4:00:41Is that right? Three three No.

4:00:43>> Three three two and one.

4:00:45>> Okay.

4:00:46I feel like I'm on Clue.

4:00:48>> [laughter]

4:00:49>> Yes, okay, nine. Thank you. All right,

4:00:51and then [clears throat] elimination of

4:00:53private security services. And this is

4:00:55not a reduction, this is a pure

4:00:57elimination.

4:00:58>> Yes, ma'am.

4:00:59>> And when we talk about the VA campus,

4:01:00we're talking about the VA building,

4:01:02correct?

4:01:03>> Okay. Uh

4:01:05Juvenile Court,

4:01:08eliminating security there.

4:01:09>> Yes, ma'am.

4:01:10>> And Armstrong Park, eliminating security

4:01:13there.

4:01:14>> Yes, ma'am.

4:01:15>> Um for the park complex, has security

4:01:17ever sort of apprehended or stopped

4:01:19people from breaking in, to your

4:01:22knowledge?

4:01:23>> I don't know that we've ever

4:01:24apprehended someone breaking in. Um the

4:01:28when we added security back in 2017,

4:01:31that was after the buildings had been um

4:01:35vandal proofed.

4:01:36>> Right.

4:01:37>> With the and we added security. What

4:01:39What has happened in the Armstrong Park

4:01:41complex is that we don't There There are

4:01:44no homeless encampments in that park. It

4:01:47is free to be used by um

4:01:50by visitors and community members. And

4:01:54um you know, we we don't have any

4:01:56criminal incidents that occur in the

4:01:58park because of that visibility.

4:02:00>> Okay.

4:02:01Juvenile Court, that would mean that

4:02:04there's no security at all.

4:02:05>> No screening.

4:02:06>> No screening. At So, at the front door,

4:02:08there would be no screening at all.

4:02:09>> No, ma'am.

4:02:10>> Okay.

4:02:11The VA campus, you're talking about the

4:02:12building over there. Uh what are those

4:02:15What does that property private security

4:02:18uh What is that?

4:02:19>> There are two officers that are assigned

4:02:21there 24/7.

4:02:23Um

4:02:24and they patrol the the buildings that

4:02:27the city has offices as well as the

4:02:29garage.

4:02:31>> And that is not So, the low barrier

4:02:33shelter has its own security. So, this

4:02:35is just two officers to really secure

4:02:37the building.

4:02:37>> The remainder of the campus.

4:02:38>> Okay, got it. City Hall, obviously. So,

4:02:41that would mean nobody at this front

4:02:44>> And And the City Hall line item, yes,

4:02:46ma'am, would include all of the

4:02:47screening. It includes the first

4:02:48personnel assigned to the second floor

4:02:50and it

4:02:51includes two people that are assigned to

4:02:54um

4:02:551340 Poydras where they have

4:02:57adjudication hearings as well as um

4:03:02Safety and Permits Code Enforcement

4:03:03area.

4:03:04>> Okay.

4:03:07Um I do have a question about uh

4:03:09Councilmember Willard and Maye and

4:03:11Councilmember McCaren's favorite topics,

4:03:14um drones.

4:03:15>> Yes, ma'am.

4:03:16>> You

4:03:18uh really have no involvement, even

4:03:19though they you're the Real Time Crime

4:03:21Center, in the NOPD's drone deployment.

4:03:25>> Not at this Not at this point.

4:03:26>> Is there any discussion about you taking

4:03:28that over or becoming involved?

4:03:30>> There has been some preliminary

4:03:31discussion about us getting involved in

4:03:33and/or making our space available for

4:03:36them to use

4:03:38at at our Rampart Street facility.

4:03:41>> At other in other jurisdictions where

4:03:43they have a real-time crime center or

4:03:44something similar to yours, is it common

4:03:47for that center to deploy the drones

4:03:51versus the particular law enforcement

4:03:53agency?

4:03:54>> I'm not aware of a real First of all,

4:03:56we're

4:03:57we're the we're primarily the only

4:03:59real-time crime center in the country

4:04:01that falls outside of the organizational

4:04:03scope of a police department. But,

4:04:05everywhere that has a real-time crime

4:04:08center that I'm aware of

4:04:10the and a drone as a first responder

4:04:12program, the drone as a first responder

4:04:15program is embedded in and/or managed by

4:04:19the real-time crime

4:04:21>> I mean, it makes sense. You guys monitor

4:04:22the cameras that are all around and

4:04:24there

4:04:25are thousands of cameras. So, if

4:04:26anybody's committing a crime, you're

4:04:27going to see it.

4:04:28>> Yes, ma'am.

4:04:29>> Um it would make sense to me that if

4:04:31we're going to have a drone program,

4:04:32which I I don't want to have a drone

4:04:34program, that it would be in your shop

4:04:36and not just in the eighth district, for

4:04:38example.

4:04:41All right, that's all I got.

4:04:42Council member Willard.

4:04:43>> Thanks. Hey, Ambrose.

4:04:45>> Good morning.

4:04:46>> that's how Jefferson Parish has it set

4:04:48up like that. I mean, they have all the

4:04:50screens and they launch their drone as

4:04:53needed, dispatch their drone.

4:04:56Um few few questions. What is the total

4:05:00dollar amount for your personnel

4:05:02reduction because I saw

4:05:04um on one of the spreadsheets for

4:05:06Questica, it had a 624,000

4:05:10personnel reduction, but your slide show

4:05:12193 on general fund and then 171 on

4:05:16non-general fund.

4:05:18>> Correct. So, I'm going to I'm going to

4:05:19help I'm going to ask Brandy to help me

4:05:20with that because the the total for the

4:05:23nine people is the 624.

4:05:25>> Okay.

4:05:26>> Um and some of that's going to come out

4:05:28of

4:05:29>> patrol.

4:05:30>> And then we have to add money back to

4:05:32the to that for that one position for

4:05:34that IT position.

4:05:37And then we we move and you also have

4:05:39the art the ARPA reduction. So

4:05:41>> Got it.

4:05:41>> It it's not going to it's not going to

4:05:43be clean because because we add

4:05:45>> the differences from last year to this

4:05:47year doesn't necessarily compare his

4:05:49starting request from 27 to now.

4:05:52>> Got it. Okay.

4:05:54Um

4:05:54what's the the federal Treasury

4:05:58Department funding?

4:05:59>> It's the ARPA.

4:06:00>> That's for ARPA and the French Market

4:06:03Corporation funding?

4:06:04>> That comes from the French Market. ARPA.

4:06:06>> That comes from

4:06:06>> their self-generation fund.

4:06:08>> Okay. And that's just for access to

4:06:11What Did you have grounds patrol out

4:06:13there?

4:06:14>> Yes, sir. We have

4:06:15we manage through a CEA with the French

4:06:18Market the security for their um

4:06:21for their properties.

4:06:22>> Got you.

4:06:23>> So they they reimburse the city for

4:06:24that.

4:06:25>> Okay. Um Questica, just to clarify,

4:06:28there was a line item that said ADDI

4:06:32crime cameras. That's additional crime

4:06:34cameras, right?

4:06:35>> I'm assuming.

4:06:36>> I think that should be ADDL, but

4:06:37>> But it's for additional. It's for

4:06:39250,000.

4:06:41>> Yes, sir. Then that's the that's the

4:06:42five per council district.

4:06:44>> Yep. And then there's a $900,000 figure

4:06:48for RTCC Cox data for crime cameras.

4:06:53900,000. [snorts]

4:06:55Is that like rent? What is that?

4:06:56>> That's that's the that's the fee that we

4:06:59pay Cox to have those internet accounts

4:07:02out in the field for the back haul back.

4:07:04>> Okay. So that's that's an annual cost

4:07:07for the Real Time Crime Crime Center.

4:07:09Okay. Um and then there was a 125,000

4:07:14for repairs and maintenance of audio and

4:07:17video. Is that also something that we we

4:07:20have to pay every year or is that just a

4:07:22big need right now for the the audio

4:07:25video repairs and maintenance?

4:07:28>> it's something that we're going to have

4:07:30to pay for the next few years because

4:07:31our systems are 9 years old. So, a lot

4:07:34of them are in the life. So, what I've

4:07:36what I've like to do is over the next 3

4:07:38years start to replace them start start

4:07:40replacing it before we start

4:07:43I'm some of our equipment if it if it

4:07:45goes, there is no you know, there is no

4:07:48fixing it. It's at end of life.

4:07:49>> Okay. Now, I see see Chief Harrison back

4:07:52there. Might be good to look at federal

4:07:55funding sources for something like that.

4:07:57There may be federal opportunities to

4:07:59pay for those new cameras

4:08:01instead of sinking costs into repairing

4:08:03and maintaining outdated cameras.

4:08:07That's all I have. Thank you, Ross.

4:08:09>> Councilmember Monroe, anything? All

4:08:10right, Ross. Thank you so much.

4:08:12>> all so much.

4:08:16>> Motion to adjourn.

4:08:18>> We can adjourn and we will be here

4:08:20tomorrow

4:08:21and District B will be providing pizza.

4:08:24Yay!

4:08:26>> Gluten-free?

4:08:27>> I might come back.

4:10:20>> Mhm.