From left, Alderwoman Tia Simmons and Alderman Ray Duplechain discuss possibilities to alleviate the workload off Jeanerette police officers. 

The Jeanerette Board of Aldermen approved tentative steps to begin an agreement with the Jeanerette City Marshal to help with police staffing after the town’s law enforcement problems came to a head Tuesday night during a contentious special meeting.

The meeting was called after some board members had asked to place law enforcement issues on the table for discussion during a regular meeting last week but had been removed by Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr. to the anger of some of the board.

At the heart of the issue was the staffing of the Jeanerette Police Department. According to Chief Dusty Vallot, the police department has five officers on staff, including himself. On weekdays, Vallot said he is handling complaints alone, and two officers are on a single shift on nights and weekends.

Having that many officers to keep a town of 5,000 people safe, Vallot said, is impossible. The chief has reached out to neighboring agencies in St. Mary and Iberia parishes for help in the past, and talks had taken place to allow some of those officers to work on a part-time commission in Jeanerette.

Alderwoman Tia Simmons said the budget for the JPD allows for seven officers, but there is currently more overtime being paid than actual salaries.

Solutions to the problem has suffered serious setbacks, largely due to strained relationships on several sides. Tensions between Vallot and Bourgeois rose on the issue of hiring. Traditionally, Jeanerette government has given the mayor final approval for hiring, and the chief of police can only submit a recommendation. However, legal counsel Lucretia Pecantte said she could not find that procedure written anywhere in the town’s special charter, and suggested to the board it could be changed if they saw fit.

Members of the board also had grievances with the mayor’s perceived micromanaging of law enforcement affairs.

“We’ve got to let the guy that’s qualified make the decision,” Alderman Ray Duplechain said.

But the immediate solution presented rested on City Marshal Fernest “Pacman” Martin. Although the JPD has been dealing with severe staffing issues, the Marshal’s Office is another agency in Jeanerette that has historically had good staffing and equipment. Martin himself has even taken the interim roles in the past while the city searched for permanent hires.

When asked to comment on the situation, Martin said he is willing to hear any proposal but there has been an issue of safety in the past when asked to help with the Jeanerette Police Department. There are also legal issues to consider about the boundaries of the Marshal’s Office that Martin said he faced when previously trying to make intergovernmental agreements with the town.

The Marshal added that he has had his own issues working with the police department in the past.

“I will work with anybody that wants to work with me, but I will also do everything in my power to make sure we’re safe,” Martin said.”

Simmons asked the Marshal if some type of deal could be worked out that would meet the legal and interpersonal requirements of the Marshal. The marshal agreed, and future meetings will occur in the coming days to further hash out a possible agreement.

“Let’s see if the marshal and the chief can figure something out just to give us some temporary protection,” Simmons said. “Right now, to go another month with these officers working almost 350 hours a month, something has to be done.”