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Baton Rouge city constable warns 11% proposed cut would force layoffs amid staffing shortfalls
Summary
The city constable argued constables are post‑certified law‑enforcement officers and said an 11% proposed reduction in her office’s FY2026 allocation would require 3–4 layoffs in addition to already frozen vacancies; councilmembers and the mayor pledged to review the classification and possible amendments.
The city constable addressed the Metropolitan Council to contest a proposed workforce reduction in the FY2026 budget and to press two central points: constables are law‑enforcement officers and the office already faces substantial staffing shortfalls that cuts would exacerbate.
The constable said the office performs warrants, evictions, seizures, restraining‑order service, courtroom security and other judicial enforcement duties, and that all deputies are post‑certified peace officers who receive academy training. “We are law enforcement,” she said repeatedly during testimony, urging councilmembers to recognize the office’s public‑safety role.
She outlined staffing gaps across multiple units: front‑door security (staffed 8 of 9 positions), judicial enforcement (5 of 9), jail deputies (5 of 8), and a clerical staff reduced to four. She said the budget book lists 48 authorized positions but that 11 were frozen on arrival, leaving about 28 employees on the roster. She said a proposed 11% reduction in non‑police cuts — despite the mayor’s initial guidance that police and fire would be excluded from the deepest reductions — would force an additional 3–4 layoffs beyond frozen vacancies and make it impossible to maintain current security and court services in a timely manner.
Councilmembers asked finance staff for clarification. Finance said the 11 frozen vacancies referenced in the budget can be applied across 2025 and 2026 so layoffs may be avoidable if vacancies are frozen as planned; the constable said prior conversations with finance produced different layoff estimates. Mayor Edwards told the constable he considered the office law enforcement and said he would meet with councilmembers and administration staff to discuss amendments, while stressing that any restored funding must come from other parts of the constrained budget.
The council did not adopt a final budget amendment at the hearing; councilmembers urged more discussion and cross‑department coordination, including whether other entities that benefit from City Hall security should contribute to funding.
