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DeSoto Parish Jury approves transfers to fund new correctional facility after heated debate
Summary
The DeSoto Parish Police Jury approved a $6.6 million transfer — $1 million from the jail fund and $5.6 million from tipping fees — into a correctional facility fund to move forward with construction of a new jail, prompting jurors to debate transparency, budget balance and use of tipping fees.
The DeSoto Parish Police Jury voted Wednesday to transfer $1,000,000 from the jail fund and $5,600,000 from landfill tipping fees into a correctional facility fund to finance construction of a new detention facility.
The measure, moved by the Budget and Finance committee, passed after several jurors opposed moving funds before the parish’s annual budget is balanced. One juror said the body should not “be moving no money until we balance our budget,” arguing voters had not been asked and expressing concern about using tipping fees and other dedicated funds for a construction project.
Parish Administrator Michael Reister (parish administrator) and other staff said inflation and rising construction costs had increased the project price — Reister said the jail-only construction estimate has grown by about $2,000,000 since last year — and the transfer was needed to lock in financing and advertise for bids to keep the project on schedule. Reister told jurors that if the board can secure funding this year, the project could be advertised by early next year and construction started soon after.
Jurors also discussed whether some repairs (including an estimated $250,000 painting quote for the existing facility) could be completed from existing jail-fund balances. Reister said the transferred funds would all flow into the correctional facility fund and that the parish has a legal obligation to maintain and build a detention facility.
The jury’s motion to authorize the treasurer to transfer the funds passed on voice vote. The meeting packet included a $26,000,000 estimated total construction cost for the replacement detention facility. No roll-call vote with individual tallies was recorded in the transcript; the action was announced as passed.
The transfer follows other actions taken at the meeting, including adoption of cooperative endeavor language clarifying that the sheriff will fund construction of the sheriff’s office portion of a broader project while the parish remains responsible for detention construction costs.
