Bossier Jury setting itself up for lawsuit loss

Go ahead, Bossier Parish Police Jury, make my day, if you dare, although the parish would be far better off if you simply followed the law.

Last week’s Jury meeting ended with a letter of resignation from former Library Director Felesha Sweeney. Two days later, the parish’s Library Board of Control said it had appointed Marissa Richardson as the new interim director, it later clarified.

That’s important as she cannot take the permanent post until, according to statute, appointment by the Board, which requires a public meeting. But the past two meetings of the Board were inconsistent with state law because, among other things, the entire Jury of a dozen masqueraded as members of the Board when legally there can be a maximum of only seven voting members on it.

How the Board got together and made the selection is a mystery, since it hasn’t met since May 6. Also mysterious is how the minutes of that meeting appear in a presumably official capacity, as there has been no public meeting where they were approved.

After that last meeting, as a resident, taxpayer, and library patron, I sent the Jury a cease and desist letter, highlighting the discrepancy between its supposed composition and asking for corrective action with a plan conveyed within seven days for that, which naturally was ignored. I also threatened potentially to sue without that correction. Practically speaking, it means that the Board is on notice that if it meets again in the same fashion, I will sue it. And I will because Bossierites need a governing authority they can trust, and we can’t have such if the authority thumbs its nose at whatever law it finds inconvenient, for who knows what it will disregard next? Simply, continued Jury lawlessness cannot be tolerated.

Now begins an interesting standoff. Having gone this far out on the limb, the Jury no doubt will be loath to retreat, but knows that if it doesn’t it’s set to receive bad publicity and spend taxpayer dollars to defend something it cannot win – and just 16 months out from election season. That is, if it meets as the doppelganger Board. So, what may happen is Richardson may have to live with the interim tag for some time while the faux Board delays meeting as long as possible.

Yet the Jury can’t hide from this forever, and not even from 2027 election campaigning. For example, another legal duty of the Board is it must produce annually a budget for consideration by the Jury. It did not do so at the previous meeting, so it if doesn’t do so prior to adoption by the Jury of the entire parish budget at year’s end, it has violated the law.

It’s a time for choosing for the Jury: get straight with the law or face the consequences, because you can delay but you can’t prevent the chickens coming home to roost. Might as well start now by removing none, one, or both of the two existing legally-appointed members to the Board, adding up to two slots as you like (the last legal incarnation of the Board had five members), and appointing (jurors if it likes) eligible citizens according to the existing staggered term schedule.