Ward 2/Marksville City Court funding flap resurfaces

No matter how high the haystack may be, there is eventually a last straw.

Marksville Mayor John Lemoine may have reached that point in the years-long dispute over the distribution of Ward 2/City Court fines between the city and Avoyelles Police Jury.

During his department report at the Dec. 11 City Council meeting, Police Chief Elster Smith noted the city received $85 in fines from the court this past month. The Police Jury was sent a check for $2,230.

“This is ridiculous and outrageous,” Lemoine said. The mayor said Marksville police officers write most of the tickets and misdemeanor offenses that are heard in the court. The city pays half of the court’s operating expenses.

“It is not fair that we get $85 and the Police Jury gets over $2,000,” Lemoine said. “We need to receive our fair share.”

Lemoine said he will meet with District Attorney Charles Riddle to discuss the inequity of the situation.

FUNDING AGREEMENT

For many years after the ward/city court was established, the city and parish had a “gentlemen’s agreement” under which Marksville paid almost all of the operating costs and received all of the fines from the court. A few years ago, Lemoine insisted the parish pay half of the operating costs, as required by the statute that created the court. The Police Jury reluctantly agreed, but instructed Riddle to prosecute as many tickets and misdemeanors as possible as violations of state law and not as infractions of city ordinances.

That tactic has resulted in the “state” fines going to the Police Jury and leaving the city with fines from city ordinances, such as violating the ban on “saggy pants.”

Although the parish receives most of the fines, jurors have complained that they still spend more than they are receiving.

Jurors -- led by Henry Moreau as the most outspoken critic -- have said it is not fair that the parish be required to pay for what they say is basically a city court.

They have repeatedly said they are willing to go back to the previous agreement and not receive a single penny in fines.

ABOLISH WARD/CITY COURT

Moreau has called for the abolition of the ward/city court.

If that were to happen -- and there is some debate as to whether it could happen -- Ward 2 would have a justice of the peace court and Marksville would have a municipal or mayor’s court to address ordinance violations and tickets within the city limits.