Lincoln Parish Sheriff puts 1/4-cent sales tax on April ballot
KNOE on Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Tax Hike
01/28/2012New Filing in EXCO Tax Claim
01/28/2012An Answer has been filed in the lawsuit of EXCO Operating Company vs Debra Jackson, administrator of the Jackson Parish Tax Commission.
Shreveport attorney Richard Barham filed the document last Monday in Second Judicial (Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson parishes) District Court in Jonesboro.
EXCO had alleged that sales taxes were improperly charged on several non-taxable transactions between contractors and EXCO, such as construction, repair and servicing of immovable property, installation services, well fracturing services, and other down-hole services.
The Answer denied almost all the allegations.
See here the Answer
See here the lawsuit
Chief Horton: “I’ll not put him on the schedule”
01/27/2012Despite a 3 to 1 vote by the Town of Jonesboro’s Board of Aldermen to not uphold Jonesboro Police Department (JPD) Chief Wesley Horton’s recommendation of termination for Patrolman Hezekiah Perry, Horton said he would not schedule Perry for work, nor would he pay him from his JPD Budget.
Horton said, “I won’t put him to work unless there’s a court order telling me to do so.”
Voting no on the motion was District B’s Renee Stringer. Voting to undercut the chief were Alderman-at-Large LaStevic Cottonham, District C’s Charla Melton, and District D’s Devin Flowers.
District A’s Sam Lamkin was absent.
Earlier this week, the town’s controversial mayor Leslie Thompson inquired to town attorney Douglas Stokes on the following three points:
1) Does the Lawrason Act compel an elected Police Chief of a municipality to submit his recommendation for hire and fire to the Board of Aldermen?
2) When the Board disagrees with the elected Police Chiefs recommendation to terminate an employee, what enforcement rights does the Board have to enforce that decision?
3) If the spirit of the Council’s recommendation is not adhered to, then does that potential open the Town to a lawsuit by the employee who believes that he should be allowed to return to work as directed by the Council?
See here the letter.
Stoke replied that yes, the board must approve hiring and firing, but that the chief still had the authority to run his department as he sees fit, and to suspend officers if the situation warrants.
See here Stokes’ reply.
We will have additional reporting later on other business that took place at today’s meeting.
Sheriff Stone’s Side of the Story
01/27/2012This morning, a press release from Lincoln Parish Sheriff Mike Stone.
Sheriff Mike Stone is asking for the public’s support to help keep our community safe and preserve the quality of life in Lincoln Parish by voting yes on two tax measures in a special election set for April 21, 2012.
The first measure is a renewal of the 7.83 mill property tax currently in effect in Lincoln Parish. This tax presently funds 40 percent of the Sheriff’s Office’s operating budget. Renewal of this millage will cause no changes to taxpayers, as they will continue to pay the same rate as they have for the past 20 years.
The second measure will be for a ¼ cent sales tax, which will help offset the increased expenses incurred by the department in recent years and provide for the future funding needs of the Sheriff’s Office.
“We have been hit hard by increased expenses over the last few years,” Stone said. “As everybody knows, the price of gasoline has almost doubled from the end of 2009 to now and insurance costs have gone through the roof. The cost of training and outfitting our personnel has also increased significantly.”
Meanwhile, while costs have increased, the services provided to the public have also jumped dramatically. Stone pointed to the fact that calls for service to his department have increased from 11,857 in 2000 to 18,171 in 2008 and are projected to rise to 20,400 in 2012.
He said that the department’s expenses have more than doubled, from $2,594,305 in 2000 to a projected $6,795,631 for 2012.
“We have put many cost-cutting measures in place recently to offset these added expenses,” Stone said. “From hiring, pay and training freezes, to reducing our technology budget, we have tried to run the most streamlined operation we can.”
Stone said that Lincoln Parish only has 1 deputy per 719 citizens, which is a much lower per capita rate when compared with other similarly-sized parishes in North Louisiana, such as Webster (1 per 284), Natchitoches (1 per 476), Morehouse (1 per 151), DeSoto (1 per 313), and Bienville (1 per 247).
“When we took office eight years ago, we promised several things,” Stone said. “More patrol and visibility on the street, adding an additional investigator, strengthening our drug interdiction (LPNET) and elderly protection (TRIAD) programs, putting an SRO officer in every school, improving litter abatement and animal control, and adding special patrol deputies (SCAT and CAP).
“We feel we’ve delivered on our promises and have been good stewards of the public’s money, and we ask for your trust that we will continue to do so.”
Jonesboro Cop Firing on Agenda Today
01/27/2012A recommendation by Town of Jonesboro Chief of Police Wesley Horton to fire Patrolman Hezekiah Perry for insubordination will be on the agenda at a special called meeting of the town’s Board of Aldermen.
Two weeks ago the issue was tabled until the town’s legal counsel could be present for the meeting.
The meeting is scheduled for 3:00 PM at the W. Richard Zuber City Hall, 128 Allen Avenue.
Higher Ed Roundup – 1/26/12
01/26/2012Plaintiffs Move to Dismiss Defense Appeal to 2nd Circuit in Essmeier v Jonesboro
01/25/2012The plaintiffs in Essmeier v Jonesboro last month filed a motion to dismiss an appeal to Louisiana’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals, by the defendants in that lawsuit.
See here the document.
The plaintiffs claim in their motion that while the trial court record has been delivered to the 2nd Circuit in Shreveport, the appellants/defendants have yet to designate the type of of appeal they request, and that the deadline for doing so has passed.
The motion asks the the circuit court dismiss the appeal per Uniform Court of Appeal Rule 2-7.4
The court may summarily dismiss untimely or improperly filed motions and pleadings.
Higher Ed Roundup – 1/25/12
01/25/2012Scalise Removes Name From SOPA Sponsorship, as Promised
01/24/2012As promised last week, GOP Congressman Steve Scalise (District 1), officially removed his name from the list of cosponsors for H. R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
See here the list of the 24 sponsors for the bill, and the seven house members who have withdrawn that support.
A spokesman for Scalise said that he would have taken that action late last week, but that the U. S. House of Representatives was not in session Thursday and Friday.
Last week, an firestorm of internet protests occurred after Wikipedia, Reddit, and an estimated 7,000 other smaller websites coordinated a service blackout, or posted links and images in protest against SOPA and the Senate bill, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), in an effort to raise awareness of the legislation.
Both the U. S. Senate and the House removed the bills from their calendars.
