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Parish Government Structure
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The Forms of Parish Government
Origins of the Police Jury
1974 Constitutional Change
Police Jury System of Government
Home Rule Charter |
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The Forms of Parish Government
When Louisiana's governmental framework was devised, the
structure of parish government was fragmented among a number of
different officials and it remains so. The parish governing
authority is only one part of the total parish governmental
structure. Many functions are vested in independently appointed
or elected officials such as the elected assessor, coroner,
clerk of court, district attorney and sheriff. Many federal and
state mandates must be considered when viewing the overall
parish government picture.
41 of state's 64 parishes operate under the Police Jury form of
government. The other 23 parishes operate under a form of home rule
charter. The home rule charter governments include
Council-President, Commission, Consolidated Government, and
City-Parish.
Click here
for a breakdown of Parishes by form of government. |
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Origins of the Police Jury
Louisiana is unique in the nation in that it has parishes
which are governed in most cases by police juries. Parishes
correspond to counties and police juries to county boards of
commissioners or similar local governing bodies in other states.
Once Louisiana had counties. Shortly after the Louisiana
territory was purchased by the United States, the newly created
Legislative Council met in 1804 and divided the state into 12
counties. These were Orleans, German Coast, Acadia, LaFourche,
Iberville, Pointe Coupee, Concordia, Atakapas, Opelousas,
Rapides, Natchitoches and Ouachita.
These counties proved too large for satisfactory administration
and in 1807, the state was divided into 19 parishes based, for
the most part, on the boundaries of the 21 ecclesiastical
parishes established in 1762. Thus parish became the local
government district.
Government of the 19 parishes was at first along lines
established for the counties wherein county judges served as the
chief governing officers. In 1807, the Legislative Council and
House of Representatives of the Territory of Orleans revised the
parish form of government. A 12-member jury was created to serve
with the parish judge and the justice of peace, both of the
latter being appointive officials. This body was charged with
responsibility for "execution of whatever concerns the interior
and local police and for administration of the parish."
Another step was taken in 1810 when legislation created the
office of sheriff for each parish and provided that he be paid
from the "police assembly of the parish." An 1811 act made
members of the police assembly elective and officially
designated this body as a "police jury." Powers of the judges
were reduced and justices of peace were made ex officio members.
(In 1824, justices of peace were dropped from the police jury
membership.) Two years later, in 1813, legislation provided for
wards within parishes and for election of members from wards to
serve on the police juries. (Members were to serve without
compensation and to be subject to a fine for non-attendance.)
Parish judges continued to serve on police juries as ex officio
presidents until 1830 when legislation excluded them from jury
membership. Police juries were gradually given added powers over
the next two decades and began to function much as they do
today. The Louisiana Constitution of 1845 dropped all references
to counties. |
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1974 Constitutional Change
The 1974 constitution granted broad home rule authority to
parishes and municipalities and reversed the traditional concept
of local government as a "creature of the state" possessing only
delegated authority.
The constitution provides two ways for a police jury to secure
home rule authority. The first method involves the creation of a
parish charter commission and approval by the voters of a home
rule charter.
The second method permits parish voters to grant the police jury
specific authority to exercise a power or perform a certain
function.
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Police Jury System of Government
The police jury form of government is similar to the traditional
commission form common at the county level in other states. The
police jury may have no fewer than five members nor more than 15
members, or the number the jury was authorized to have before
1974, if larger. A parish with a population of less than 10,000
may have as few as three members.
The statutes do not designate how a police jury should organize
to discharge its functions and, consequently, parishes have
considerable flexibility. This flexibility is sometimes cited as
an advantage of the jury system.
Another advantage cited for the jury system is that it provides
government close to the people. The typically large juries,
elected from single member districts, permit each juror to know
his constituents and their problems.
The police jury system works well in some parishes. However, its
basic structure causes problems for other parishes, usually
those with growing populations. That's because the police jury
system vests both legislative and administrative functions in
the same persons. The jury performs the legislative functions of
enacting ordinances, establishing programs and setting policy.
It also is an administrative body in that it is involved in
preparing the budget, hiring and firing personnel, spending
funds, negotiating contracts and in general, directing the
activities under its supervision. Police juries centralize
administrative responsibilities to some extent in various ways,
but generally have no provisions for a strong chief executive
officer.
The police jury does not have authority to determine its own
structure and organization. Neither does it offer the protection
from legislative interference in structure, organization, and
powers and functions which is provided by a home rule charter.
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Home Rule Charter
A home rule charter provides the structure and organization,
powers and functions of the parish, which may include the
exercise of any power and performance of any function necessary,
requisite or proper for the management of its affairs, not
denied by general law or inconsistent with the constitution.
President-Council Charters. The more prevalent president-council
charters typically provide for a strong, full-time chief
executive, elected at large. The president normally has strong
appointment and veto powers-including an item veto over
appropriations. In some parishes, the president is the
administrative manager as well as chief executive. In other
parishes, he appoints a chief administrative officer (CAO) or
assistant to fill that role.
Council-Administrator Charter. In 1983, Caddo Parish initiated
the only true council-administrator form of government currently
operating in the state. While the Caddo organizational chart
looks similar to that of a police jury with a manager, the role
of the administrator differs significantly from that of the
manager. The Caddo home rule charter clearly separates
legislative and administrative functions. Although appointed by
and serving at the pleasure of the council (referred to as a
commission) the administrator has both the responsibility and
authority to supervise parish operations.
Parish Commission Form. For 20 years, Plaquemines Parish
operated under the only true commission form of government at
the parish level in the state. The 1966 home rule charter set up
a 5-member commission, elected at large but with district
residence requirements. The commissioner from each district
headed a specific department. As the result of a reapportionment
case, a 1982 court order forced the parish to expand the
commission to nine members, all elected from single member
districts. The administration was further divided to give each
commissioner a department to head.
This unique structure was quite expensive, particularly
considering the small parish population.
In an April 1986 election, parish voters selected the
president-council form of government which replaced the
commission in1987. Under the new charter the president is a
strong chief executive and the nine-member council, elected from
districts, have no administrative role in those functions placed
under the president.
City-Parish Consolidation. City-county/Parish consolidation is
one structural adaptation which may provide unified government
in a metropolitan area. The solution is more complete when the
metropolitan area is contained within one county/parish,
however, it can be very effective in reducing governmental
fragmentation even where only the central city and its
county/parish can be combined.
The advantages of city-county/parish consolidation, according to
proponents, are in simplifying the governmental structure in the
county/parish, consolidating responsibility, eliminating
duplication, mobilizing the resources of the area, promoting the
orderly development of the county/parish, solving major
area-wide problems increasing popular control and achieving
economies of scale.
Four of Louisiana's eight metropolitan area central cities have
been consolidated with their parishes. For the remaining four,
city-parish consolidation presents a viable alternative for
providing a strong area wide government structure.
Although the current New Orleans charter dates from 1952, the
city and parish began their merger in 1805-the nation's first
consolidation. The New Orleans charter provides a strong
mayor-council form of government with a seven-member council
(five elected from districts and two at-large). The council
selects its own presiding officer.
East Baton Rouge Parish adopted a charter in 1947 - effective
1949. It was the first successful city-county consolidation
effort in the United States during the twentieth century. It
remained the only successful modern consolidation in the country
until the 1960's. The charter established a strong
mayor/president-council form of government and incorporated
modern administrative structure and procedure.
The Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government was formed by the
parish and the city of Houma similar to the Baton Rouge
approach. A strong president-council form was created with
adequate separation of the legislative and executive branches.
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