The Forms of Parish Government
Origins of the Police Jury
1974 Constitutional Change
Police Jury System of Government
Home Rule Charter

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.