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Central committee weighs policing options: in-house department estimated at $7–8M vs. EBR sheriff contract at $2.5M
Summary
The City of Central’s committee reviewing law enforcement options presented cost estimates for multiple models, including a full-time city police department with an estimated total annual cost of roughly $7–8 million and a contract option with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office for about $2.5 million.
The City of Central’s committee reviewing the future of law enforcement delivered an update to the City Council on Tuesday and outlined four broad options: (1) form a full-time Central police department; (2) contract police services from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office (EBRSO); (3) a second full-time CPD staffing model presented by local police leadership; or (4) a hybrid model combining local and contract resources.
Committee chair Council member J.D. Laverne said the group has met regularly since November and is preparing a recommendation this summer, likely June or July, although the committee had originally committed to issuing guidance within a year. Laverne said the committee’s role has been to collect comparative data and identify questions the council wants answered before choosing a path.
Cost estimates presented during the session included a personnel budget for a full-time Central police department of about $3.9 million; using a common multiple for overhead, facilities and equipment, staff estimated a total annual cost in the range of $7 million to $8 million. Laverne described startup and ongoing costs not captured in the personnel line — facility upkeep, vehicles, equipment and other operating expenses — and said those would roughly double the personnel figure when fully accounted for.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office presented a proposed contract figure of $2.5 million per year, the committee’s summary said; that amount, according to committee discussion, would exclude pension liabilities, legacy costs and unfunded legal liabilities unless otherwise negotiated. The sheriff’s office also reportedly indicated it would include a traffic-division component in that price; the contract terms would need clarification on enforcement of municipal ordinances and other code-enforcement authority.
A separate full-time department proposal discussed by committee members arrived at a $4.2 million annual figure for the city to operate its own police force under a smaller staffing model. Committee members described a possible hybrid model that would combine some local dedicated staff with contract coverage, but did not present a single cost figure for that option.
The committee also discussed potential funding sources (sales tax, millage, revenue generated from camera enforcement or a mayor’s court) and raised questions about whether parish millage allocations or other revenue streams might shift following recent incorporations and boundary changes. Captain Jason Dimlin (present for the discussion) explained that many Central ordinances are civil in nature; the sheriff’s office historically will not prosecute civil ordinance violations in administrative hearings, so the city would need to consider whether to adjust its code to make enforcement criminal and thus enforceable by a contracted sheriff’s office.
Why it matters: the choice affects public safety, municipal budgets and local control over enforcement of city ordinances. Committee members stressed that the recommendation will consider coverage for major incidents, liability, local control, pension and legacy-cost implications, and scalability.
Next steps: the committee expects to return with a recommendation in the coming months; council members were invited to request additional analyses or topics for the committee to explore.
