Could Caddo Parish give municipalities and the sheriff funds to improve law enforcement?

Plain-English summary

Caddo Parish appropriated $725,000 to municipalities and the sheriff's department as a one-time supplement for law enforcement equipment. The parish asked whether it could transfer the money even though parish governing authorities ordinarily did not perform law enforcement themselves. In February 2016, the Attorney General concluded that the parish “may transfer funds” for law enforcement purposes under the Local Services Law.

The opinion explained that the law permitted parishes and political subdivisions to contract for joint use of funds for police protection when at least one party was authorized to perform the activity. Municipalities and the sheriff had that authority. A footnote added that the agreement had to be in writing, set out reciprocal rights and obligations, and be published in the same manner as other proceedings of the governing body.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2016. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the parish share money with the sheriff for police equipment?

The AG said yes, through a Local Services Law cooperative agreement for law enforcement purposes. It treated the sheriff's department as a political subdivision for this analysis.

Did the parish itself have to operate a police department?

The opinion said parish governing authorities typically did not perform law enforcement functions, but the Local Services Law allowed the arrangement because the municipalities and sheriff were authorized to do so.

Could the parties rely on an informal transfer?

The opinion's footnote quoted the requirement that the agreement be reduced to writing with reciprocal rights and obligations and published like other governing-body proceedings.

Background and statutory framework

The request concerned a one-time appropriation that recipient agencies expected to use for vehicles or other law enforcement equipment. The AG applied the Local Services Law's joint-funding provision to the proposed cooperation and identified the municipalities' and sheriff's law enforcement authority.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/16-0001

Original opinion text

State of Louisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CIVIL DIVISION
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
Jeff Landry
Attorney General

FEB 26 2016
OPINION 16-0001

90-A-' PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS
La. Const. art. VII, §14
Ms. Donna Y. Frazier
La. R.S. 33:1321 of seq.
Caddo Parish Attorney
Caddo Parish may transfer funds to the municipalities within Caddo
505 Travis Street, Suite 810
Parish and the Caddo Parish Sheriffs Department for law
Shreveport, LA 71163
enforcement purposes pursuant to theLocal Services Law.

Dear Ms. Frazier,

Your request for an Attorney General's Opinion has been assigned to me for research and reply. On behalf of Caddo Parish ("Parish"), you have asked our opinion regarding the ability of the Parish to transfer funds to the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Department and the municipalities within the Parish through a cooperative endeavor agreement for the purposes of enhancing law enforcement services within the Parish.

In order to enhance the law enforcement services available to its citizens, the Parish appropriated $725,000.00 to the municipalities within the Parish and the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office as a supplement to the law enforcement budgets of the political subdivisions. The Parish anticipates that these agencies will use the funds on a one­ time basis to acquire vehicles or other equipment related to law enforcement. You have asked whether La. Const. art. VII, §14 permits such a transfer of funds.

As noted in your request, parish governing authorities typically do not perform law enforcement functions. However, La. R.S. 33:1321 et seq. ("Local Services Law"), grants parishes, municipalities, and political subdivisions' of the State of Louisiana the authority to contract with each other for the joint use of funds, facilities, personnel, or

1 La. Const. art. VI, §44 defines a "political subdivision" as "a parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, including a school board and a special district, authorized by law to perform governmental functions." La. R.S. 13:5901 creates a law enforcement district in every parish for the purpose of providing financing to the office of sheriff for that parish and establishes the sheriff as ex officio the chief executive officer. This district is provided with the power to tax by La. R.S. 13:5902 and, therefore, qualifies as a political subdivision. The jurisdiction of the Caddo Parish Sheriffs department is synonymous with that of the Caddo Parish law enforcement district. Therefore, the Caddo Parish Sheriffs Department qualifies as a political subdivision.

Page 2

Ms. Donna Y. Frazier
Opinion 16-0001
Page 2

property for police, fire, andlor health protection "provided that at least one of the participants to the agreement is authorized... to perform such an activity." La. R.S. 33:1324. 2

Municipalities are provided with the general responsibility for law enforcement. See, e.g. La. R.S. 33:423 and 13:1881. Additionally, La. Const. art. V, § 27 provides that a parish sheriff shall be the chief law enforcement officer in the parish. See also La. R.S. 13:5539 (listing the duties of the sheriff). Due to the fact that both the municipalities and the Caddo Parish Sheriffs Department have the authority to provide law enforcement services, the Local Services Law provides the Parish with the authority to enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement in order to provide for the joint use of funds in order to enhance these services.

Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that the Parish may transfer funds to the municipalities within Caddo Parish and the Caddo Parish Sheriffs Department for law enforcement purposes pursuant to the Local Services Law.

We hope this sufficiently answers your inquiry; however, if we may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

With best regards,

JEFF LANDRY
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:
Andrea Barient
Assistant Attorney General

2 Additionally, La. R.S. 33:1325 requires that the terms of any such agreement be formally reduced to writing, setting forth the reciprocal rights and obligations of each party, and the agreement must be published in the same manner as are the other proceedings of the governing body.