Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson told the Joint Criminal Justice & Budget Committee on Oct. 28 that the jail is handling nearly 1,500 residents and that the office is operating a structural and staffing crisis that will require increased city funding to address.

Hutson said the sheriff’s baseline city allocation — roughly $64.6 million for 2024 — is insufficient to run “a constitutional jail” at current population levels. She told council members deputies’ base pay has risen in recent years but remains low compared with comparable roles, and many deputies are working multiple paid details to make ends meet.

Why it matters: The sheriff said the annual cost to house a single adult resident is about $53,000, while the entry pay for deputies remains near $18 an hour; the mismatch, she said, contributes to recruitment and retention challenges and forces the office to rely heavily on overtime. The sheriff asked council to consider increases in personnel funding, targeted salary steps and funding for capital projects related to security and facility maintenance.

Key points the sheriff raised: The sheriff praised recently hired leadership and new transparency initiatives — weekly public incident reports and an anonymous hotline — but said physical‑plant problems and an aging building, along with new statutory trends, are driving up costs. She said the jail population grew 3–7% monthly this year in part because of law and practice changes statewide and cited the state’s limited funding contribution.

Staffing and budget requests: Chief Financial Officer Bianca Brown (OPSO) presented a projected 2024 operating shortfall and described the 2025 request that would raise personal services and other operating funds. The sheriff’s office said it needs additional deputies to eliminate chronic mandatory overtime and to staff custody, transports and court security. The presentation flagged phase‑3 security systems (cameras, intercoms) and elevator and door repairs as capital priorities; the office estimates multi‑million dollar needs for systems upgrades and requested clearer funding pathways from the council.

Population management and consent‑judgment risk: Major Silas Phipps Jr., who leads OPSO’s Compliance and Accountability Bureau, told the committee that consent‑decree obligations and staffing shortfalls are linked: without more staff the sheriff’s office cannot meet some consent‑judgment obligations, which in turn risks continued monitoring costs. He said the office has been working closely with federal monitors and the court but that money is required to implement plans at scale.

What the committee heard from deputies and staff: Several OPSO staff and deputies who spoke at the hearing described the pay and scheduling pressures they face. Officers said long shifts and frequent details negatively affect morale; some described working multiple outside details to make ends meet. Sheriff Hutson asked council to consider a pay plan with steps for years of service and training tied to retention.

Ending: Sheriff Hutson concluded by urging the council to weigh the financial and legal consequences of underfunding the jail and to partner with the sheriff’s office to stabilize staffing, fund capital repairs and improve resident services so the facility can operate within constitutional standards.