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Cameron Parish jury bars sitting jurors from contracting with parish
Summary
The Cameron Parish Police Jury voted July 7 to adopt a policy forbidding sitting jurors from directly or indirectly contracting with the parish, a measure supporters called an ethics safeguard and opponents said could deter candidates. The motion carried after a recorded voice/roll call vote.
The Cameron Parish Police Jury voted July 7 to adopt a policy prohibiting sitting jurors from directly or indirectly contracting with the parish.
Supporters framed the measure as an ethics reform intended to prevent conflicts of interest. "I do think that it's an ethical issue that we shouldn't be doing business and be our own boss if you will," a juror said during debate, arguing the policy would increase public confidence. Another juror urged a formal vote so the restriction cannot be applied or waived arbitrarily.
Opponents warned the rule could exclude otherwise qualified candidates and remove a source of local contracting. One juror said such a restriction might "eliminat[e] some good potential candidates to run for a juryman later on." Others called for additional measures to hold people accountable and to investigate past problems that preceded the proposal.
After discussion, a motion to adopt the prohibition was made, seconded and put to a vote. The chair conducted a mixed voice/roll call, during which several jurors voiced "Yea" and two jurors were recorded as voting "Nay." The motion carried.
The policy change is internal to the police jury; the transcript records jurors debating legal and practical impacts but does not specify implementation details such as a compliance process, timeline, or any grandfathering of existing contracts. Jurors noted that state law allows contracting in some limited circumstances given parish population, but the jury voted to impose a local restriction.
The jury did not attach an implementation schedule in the excerpted record. The next procedural step, as discussed, is to record the policy in meeting minutes and to determine any administrative steps needed to implement enforcement or exceptions.
Votes at a glance: The motion to prohibit sitting jurors from contracting with the parish was moved, seconded and carried by majority vote (exact roll‑call names and counts beyond recorded yays/nays were not fully specified in the transcript).
