The Pointe Coupee Parish Police Jury Tuesday night voted 7-5 to hold a series of informational meetings about the possibility of moving forward with the concept of a parish council, but fell short of what supporters of the change at the meeting wanted.

As soon as the lengthy discussion on a proposed resolution to begin the process of organizing a home rule charter commission, the first step toward changing from a police jury to a parish council ended, supporters gathered in the lobby of the Police Jury building to sign a petition.

“There are two ways a home rule charter can be established in the parish,” said state Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Maringouin, who led a series of speakers about the subject.

He said the Police Jury can vote to establish a commission to begin the process or the matter will go directly to the parish’s voters if 10 percent of Pointe Coupee’s registered voters sign a petition in favor of a home rule charter commission.

The conversation began with an item placed on the agenda by Juror Albert “Dewey” Dukes, “resolution authorizing appointment of a home rule charter commission and to further provide (information) with respect thereto,” ultimately leading to Dukes moving to adopt the resolution.

That motion was sidestepped when Juror Kurt Jarreau offered a substitute motion calling for informational meetings to be held throughout the parish to allow the public to learn about the differences between parish government led by a police jury and one led by a parish council.

He and other jurors said they had gotten no or very few calls from his constituents on the issue, adding he doesn’t believe voters are educated enough about the differences and the process of changing to make a decision.

“Either they don’t want it or they don’t know enough about it,” he said. His motion was seconded by Juror Clifford “Ted” Nelson and it passed with support from five other jurors–Joseph “Bozo” Bergeron, Melanie “Miss Mel” Bueche, Cornell Dukes, Willie Olinde and John “Sassy” Pourciau.

Jurors Glenn Cline, Dewey Dukes, Allen Monk, Janet Vosburg and Russell Young voted against the substitute motion.

“This is not a rejection of what you’re asking for,” Bueche told the supporters in the standing room only audience present for the meeting. “...It is a step in the right direction.”

Most jurors who voted for the informational meetings called for by Jarreau did not say they were against moving toward a parish council, but rather that they wanted to educate their constituents about the procedure and the differences between a council and a jury form of government.

“The people have elected me to do what is right by them, what they want us to do,” Monk said, adding he did not believe most voters understood the process well enough to make a decision about it yet.

Dewey Dukes said his opinion about a parish council had changed since he was first elected to the Police Jury in 1984. When the concept was first presented, he said he didn’t support it.

“But I’m wiser now,” he said, adding he believed the voters should make the ultimate decision. “...In this case, the popole can vote on this themselves. This is not a decision I have to make for them.”

Some in the audience said they saw the jury’s action at the meeting as a means to stall the process, like New Roads attorney Jody Thibaut.

“You keep on delaying it...but you’re going to have to let the people decide,” he said. “What better form of debate is there than a vote of the people.”

“All we’re talking about is prolonging it,” Thibaut continued. “The process is going to take 180 days, so there will be plenty of time for people to become educated about it before they have to vote on it.”

Rep. Major Thibaut, D-Oscar, said he “had reservations” about the possibility of a change to a parish council when the issue first surfaced in 2009, but he said he believed there is enough interest in the concept by the parish’s voters to move forward with the formation of a commission.

The commission would be the first step toward the possibility of changing from police jury to parish council, but the process of writing a home rule charter can take as long as six months and would have to be approved by a majority of the voters to be adopted.

Most of the jurors who voted for Jarreau’s motion said they had questions about the differences between the two government styles and believed their constituents did too.

“I think most of those questions, 90 percent of them, can only be answered in that process,” Major Thibaut said, adding he believed the jurors should allow the parish’s voters to make the decision. “It’s for our people to decide.”

“I would hope that we would give our people the opportunity to make that decision for themselves,” he continued. “...Let’s move forward, letting our people guide the way.”

If the home rule commission is established via a voter petition, members of the Police Jury would have nothing to do with its organization, but if the jury moves the proposition forward, jurors would select the commission’s members.

“I hope that you will take control of this bus rather than ride in it,” Major Thibaut said, referring to the lack of input jurors would have in the process if they don’t approve a commission and one is established by the voters.

“The best approach is that the Police Jury participate in that process,” Marionneaux said, adding he has no personal stake in the parish moving to a parish council form of government. “...My motive is purely this–I want to see Pointe Coupee Parish move forward.”

While talking to supporters of the parish council form of government after the meeting, Marionneaux said anyone interested in signing the petition to move the concept forward can contact his law office in Livonia.

Supporters and voters who are curious about the concept can also learn more about it on Facebook. A page has been established by those involved with the movement to change Pointe Coupee’s government, “Progress Pointe Coupee.”

Through an e-mail sent Thursday, Marionneaux said a website will also be launched soon, through which supporters will be able to print out a copy of the petition they can sign and mail to him.

Most of the people who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting favored the formation of a home rule charter commission, including Scot Byrd, economic development director for the Greater Pointe Coupee Chamber of Commerce.

“I think we’ve got a great police jury...“This police jury has really done a fabulous job,” he said, adding he believed the police jury system has served Pointe Coupee well “because good police jurors have been elected.”

“Having said that, I think a parish form of government would be better for the parish,” Byrd continued. “I believe in government of the people, by the people and for the people...and I believe you will give the people the opportunity to vote on this issue.”





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