Guest column: Policy Jury System Is the Relic to Abandon, Not Courthouse
Recent letters to this newspaper have once again bemoaned the condition of the Avoyelles Courthouse. I would not bother to reply if the issue were not so important, since Avoyelleans overwhelmingly voted to keep the Courthouse. To be sure, the Courthouse building needs proper maintenance and repair, but not abandonment. The Police Jury owns the building, and they are 100% responsible for its upkeep.
To illustrate how poor the maintenance is and how low our expectations have become, Judge Bennett's recent letter actually applauded the Police Jury for "fixing the plywood in the window that had been leaking for the last 10 years." Is that how low our standards have become for the Police Jury? We now publicly applaud them for taking 10 years to fix a small but critical issue, because we are so desperate for something...anything...to be done? No wonder Judge Bennett is frustrated. Water intrusion into any building is a serious problem that requires immediate repair in order to prevent further and more expensive damage.
You see, all of this hemming and hawing over the aging Courthouse is not really about the building. There are historic buildings in every town, city, state, and country on God's Green Earth that are much older than our Courthouse. These historic buildings have air conditioning, insulation, bathrooms, security, and any other modern amenity you can imagine. Our neighbors in Texas have modernized dozens of historic Courthouses, and continue with more each year. Other Parishes in Louisiana, such as Beauregard, have completely restored and modernized their historic Courthouse for half the cost of new construction.
So what is all the grumbling really about? It is about the tired old Police Jury system. Notice I did not say the Police Jurors themselves, I am only talking about our antiquated system of local government.
For example, if we were to wave a wand and magically make all needed Courthouse repairs overnight, would you trust a Police Jury, a committee of 9 elected officials, to properly maintain it thereafter? I don't mean the current 9 police jurors; I'm talking about any 9 jurors, past, present, or future. Committees in general are notorious for delay and indecision, whether it is in government or "Corporate America." Individually, I believe each Police Juror probably has the best interests of the citizens at heart. They work hard and are doing the best they can. I know many of them personally, and consider them friends. They have been my teachers, coaches, and colleagues, and I respect the work they do. But collectively, as a group, they are paralyzed by competing views, priorities, and goals for the Parish, because none of them represent the parish. They each were elected by their own districts, and that is who they represent, not the entire parish.
The Police Jury system itself is set up for failure. Whether it is maintaining the Courthouse, patching a pothole, or purchasing a printer, it takes a discussion and vote of 9 people from 9 competing districts. Yes, it is true they actually had to vote recently to purchase a printer. That is no way to govern in the modern era. No matter the issue, we cannot modernize Avoyelles Parish without first modernizing our system of government.
The vast majority of counties and parishes across the country have separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. In Avoyelles, the executive and legislative duties are under a single entity, the Police Jury. Imagine if the United States didn't have a President, and every decision was left to Congress to fight it out among themselves. Nothing would ever get done. Sound familiar?
The Police Jury system was established in 1807, and has changed little ever since. 26 parishes in Louisiana have abandoned this outdated system by implementing a "Home Rule Charter," and set up a modern form of local government. Generally, they happen to be the parishes that are thriving; the ones who haven't are the ones deteriorating. A "Home Rule Charter" usually consists of a Parish President elected by the entire parish, and a Parish Council who is elected by each district. This President/Council system establishes checks and balances at the local government level, just as we have at the state and federal level. It empowers the Parish President to decide quickly, while ensuring proper oversight from the Council.
But switching to a new system requires a petition to put it on the ballot in an official referendum election. Then, the voters decide whether to move Avoyelles forward or keep us stuck in the past. It isn’t an easy task, but given voters’ and even some Jurors’ frustrations, it wouldn’t be very difficult either.
-Jacques Goudeau, Marksville Resident