Editor, The Era-Leader:
The town council meeting of 03/12/2024, I see where it got a little heated. And, it was over, you guessed it, the police department.
The council voted to accept the resignation of officer Jared Stubbs. Alderman Butler chose to use this as an opportunity to, once again, voice his opinions about the workings of the PD. To quote, from the video, “I don't know what it is over there. We have, we have the problems over there. It's something we have to look at, Mr Mayor. I don't know what it is. I, but I think we need to take a close look at the police department, and see what in the world is going on.”
Alderman Butler with Alderwoman Crain are the mayor's supervisors over the Franklinton Police Department. And, Alderman Butler, by his own words, has no clue as to whatever the “problem or problems” are with the police department. At this point, I would question whether there is any problem or problems, other than Alderman Butler's dissension with their budget and his hostility for Chief Brown. He even complained that Chief Brown doesn't attend “board” meetings. It was pointed out to him, by Alderman Sharp, that there are many times when department heads do not attend council meetings, like the 3/12 meeting. There were no department heads attending.
Alderman Butler stated in the town council meeting of November 14, 2023, quoted from the video, “The police department is going to take us down. The budget is over 2 and a half million. We could take one million to give the job to the sheriff. So we will be without a police department.”
Alderman Butler is, as he has stated, the “Money Man”, concerned over the costs of educating and training police personnel. Well, Money Man, most every public responder agency and private responder agencies, be they law enforcement, fire response and emergency medical response, is tasked to educate and train their people. Some of this education and training is required by law.
However, Money Man has not said a single thing about Mayor Route's spending of $67,000 of ARPA funds on EV Chargers. Nor has he had anything to say about the town's expenditure of improving access to those chargers.
And, Mr Mayor, you stated, and I quote from the video of this meeting, “So, people just don't know what we are doing for our police department. That's why I hate to see people say we try to defund our police department. That's just an outright lie.” So, Alderman Butler's remarks regarding the department's budget and it is going to “take us down” are false? A lie?
Mayor Route and Alderman Butler seem to be at odds over their views of the town police department. Also, the mayor has a double standard of how projects that spend the town's money are to be handled.
His recreation park project, was going to go ahead and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on playground equipment. There were no plans in place for the infrastructure of an ADA compliant facility. Neither was there ever, in place, a spending estimate or schedule for any of that. Now, concerning a training facility for the police department, he wants a, and again I quote from the video, “complete dollar figure” on this project. Double standard, yep.
I have been accused of being “negative” of the town of Franklinton. Untrue.
The town of Franklinton is more than just its mayor.
I believe that it is a citizen's duty to watch their elected representatives performance and to speak out when they believe these public servants are not doing right by the electorate. In the First Amendment to the Constitution of these United States, it is written it is the right of every citizen, “...to petition the Government for the redress of grievances.” Almost every elected public servant takes an oath for office, and in that oath is the affirmation to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
I'm not being negative. I am being watchful and voicing my petition for the redress of my grievances.
Ben M Sarro
Franklinton, LA
