Police Jury prez answers juror’s ‘letter’
CROWLEY - Police Jury President David Savoy used Tuesday night’s meeting to address allegations made against him and outgoing Secretary-Treasurer Laura Faul in a letter to the editor published in The Crowley Post-Signal on Sunday.
The letter was delivered to the Crowley paper by Juror Ronald Fabacher. Among other things, it accused the parish staff of presenting an unbalanced budget to the jury and claimed that Savoy had a hand in steering the jury away from appointing the district attorney as legal counsel last week.
David opened his statement complimenting Faul, who was attending her final meeting as secretary-treasurer. She has resigned to accept a position with the sheriff’s office.
“I want to commend her for a job well done,” Savoy said. “She walked into this with a flood (in August) and a budget crisis and handled it all quite well.
“She’s been a pleasure to work with and a real positive influence in the parish and I hate to see her go.”
Savoy then attacked Fabacher’s letter.
“The 2017 budget, it was stated, was presented as unbalanced. No budget can be presented unbalanced. It has to be balanced and it was balanced,” he said.
Fabacher asked why the pay cuts to employees whose salaries are paid from the general fund were implemented at mid-year.
“There were cuts to ensure that we did not go into an unbalanced situation.”
Fabacher’s letter said the cuts were “done in order to stretch ... tax dollars so that drainage and roads would not be neglected.”
But Savoy pointed out that funding for drainage and roads does not come out of the parish general fund, each has dedicated funding sources.
Also in his letter, Fabacher stated that Brad Andrus was reappointed as legal counsel for the police jury during last Tuesday night’s committee meetings and that Savoy “used a technicality” to keep the full jury from voting on the measure.
“This was a committee meeting,” Savoy pointed out. “Nobody was appointed at this committee meeting, can’t be appointed at a committee meeting. Action wasn’t taken because the motion died for lack of a second.
“I don’t vote at committee meetings, I don’t conduct committee meetings. I open committee meetings and hand them over to the chairman of that committee who controls that meeting entirely, not me.”
Savoy continued, “Mr. Andrus has never been paid $150,000 or $100,000 (as Fabacher claimed in his letter). His pay last year was $26,000.”
Fabacher asked about Andrus’ “$50,000 retainer.”
“We don’t pay him a $50,000 retainer,” Faul answered. “We budgeted $50,000. That’s what we said he might use during the year. He used $26,000 out of that last year.
“We redid it this year and put $30,000 in the budget. I don’t know where you came up with those numbers, clue but you know you didn’t get them from me.”
Finally, Savoy addressed the current issue of replacing Faul.
“We are facing a dilemma in hiring a new secretary-treasurer,” he said. “We are losing one of the finest people I have met in my years here, honest, hard-working, responsible, dedicated to her job.”
Then he turned to Fabacher.
“You should have thought about that when you screamed and cursed her in her office constantly, denigrating her and the other ladies who work in the office.
“None of them deserve or appreciate this. They work too hard to keep this parish going and to keep it moving ahead.”
Asked about the “screaming” incident after the meeting, Savoy said it dated back to Faul’s first weeks on the job.
Savoy also addressed another topic touched on in Fabacher’s letter — the purchase of camera’s for the Crowley and Iota parish barns — which Fabacher said will “cost the parish thousands.”
“These video cameras were in the budget and no concern was voiced when the budget was reviewed,” Savoy said. “It was there for all to see.
“The equipment was purchased by the secretary-treasurer as she has been empowered to do (up to $25,000), along with full hiring and firing responsibilities and many other duties.”
The cameras cost $5,000.
“This should never have even come up,” Savoy said.
Fabacher did not respond.
In closing, Savoy said, “A strong leader leads from the front, lifting people up, not putting people down; trying to bring people together, not tearing things apart.
“The misinformation, the fake news, the screaming at people or about them and going around behind their back whispering and trying to destroy them without delivering a sound solution must stop.
“Before you jump or attack, know your facts, not suppositions or innuendoes; not he-said or she-said. You have a problem? Give us a sound solution.”
Then, referring to the aforementioned confrontations in the administrative office, Savoy concluded, “Bullying people is ugly, and it’s ugly in every situation. And sometimes it can get to the point where it’s illegal — it’s harassment. And we have a policy for harassment.”
Savoy then entertained a motion to adjourn and Fabacher promptly left the meeting room.
Juror Danny Hebert had exited the meeting much earlier, shortly after Savoy began his comments.