CENTRAL, La. (WAFB) – A lot has grown and changed over the past 20 years, with Central being a city, but not its police department. It’s still part-time. Now a new committee of seven people will decide whether change will finally happen.

“Putting together what it would take to create a full-time police department, what the budget would be, how many officers we need and what that would reduce, as well as the cost,” said Chief Roger Corcoran.

The price tag is Mayor Wade Evans’ main concern.

“$7 million a year is a big ask for a city that generates $17 million a year in sales tax,” Evans said.

However, Corcoran believes it’s a price worth paying.

“In any city, your biggest expense, regardless of the city, is law enforcement,” Corcoran said. “Rightly so, because without it you won’t have a city.”

Evans said there are several ways to fund a full-time department, such as creating a new factory tax. However, he wonders whether outsourcing certain services, such as writing tickets, would not be more profitable than expanding the department. Regardless, he wants the committee to consider options that work best for everyone.

“A fiscally conservative approach to how we provide these services and how can we do it where our citizens are best protected with the resources we have,” Evans explained.

However, as the city grows, Corcoran says the department needs more resources to keep pace. It has 15 certified officers with a starting salary of $41,000 per year. However, many of them work part-time on their own. Corcoran believes a full-time department would make recruitment and retention easier.

“We hire people, they leave because they have better paying jobs and something with benefits,” Corcoran said. “That’s our biggest problem: We’re losing good officers because there’s no benefits, so it’s pretty hard to keep people.”

As the committee begins to weigh all of its options, Evans said the goal is for members to help the city know all of its options so they can make the best decision moving forward.

“Be open-minded on the committee, because that’s what it takes,” Corcoran asks. “These are big decisions to make, but they are decisions to make for this community and this community needs law enforcement. »

The committee will hold its first meeting Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. It will take place at the Central School Board office. It is open to the public and will also be broadcast live.

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