Public Notices

Sheriff Badge Gary Driskell Transparent_1.png

Notice Posted: March 25, 2025 @ 3:00 p.m.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

A public meeting will be held as follows:

DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 2025

TIME: 10:00 a.m.

PLACE OF MEETING: St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office

500 Main Street, Courthouse Bldg., 4th Floor

Franklin, LA 70538

AGENDA:

Call to Order

Approval of Minutes from last meeting, October 8, 2024

Old Business NONE

New Business:

Adopt the millage rate for the year 2025 for the Law Enforcement District and the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1.

Adjournment

Gary Driskell, Sheriff and ex-officio Tax Collector and Chief Executive Officer of the Law Enforcement District and the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1 of St. Mary Parish

500 Main Street, Courthouse Bldg, 4th Floor

Franklin, LA 70538

337-828-1960

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Michele L. Chauvin at 337-828-6943 describing the assistance that is necessary.

Posted:

October 7, 2024

12:00 p.m.

Franklin, Louisiana

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a special meeting of the Law Enforcement District of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana, has been ordered and called and will be held at the Sheriff's Office, Parish Courthouse, 4th Floor, Franklin, Louisiana, on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. for the following purposes, to‑wit:

To consider and take action with respect to adopting a cooperative endeavor agreement between the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office and the Law Enforcement District of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana a/k/a St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement District, and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

To consider and approve the publication of the RFQ for the building of the new central sub-station and motor pool.

To consider and transact any and all other business which may be properly brought before the Sheriff of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana, and Ex-Officio Chief Executive Officer of the District.

All interested parties are invited to attend.

Gary Driskell, Sheriff and Chief Executive Officer of the Law Enforcement District of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana

In compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact the Sheriff's office at (337) 828-1960, describing the assistance that is necessary.

______________________________________________________

LAW ENFORCEMENT SUB-DISTRICT NO. 1 OF THE

PARISH OF ST. MARY, STATE OF LOUISIANA

RESOLUTION

A resolution ordering and calling a special election to be held in the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1 of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana (the "Sub-District"), to authorize the renewal of a special tax therein, making application to the State Bond Commission and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

WHEREAS, Act No. 689 of the Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature for the year 1976 (R.S. 13:5901, et. seq.) (the "Act") created a law enforcement district in each Parish, with boundaries coterminous with the boundaries of such parish, and designated the Sheriff of the respective parish as the ex-officio Chief Executive Officer thereof; and

WHEREAS, the Act provides for the methods of funding the said law enforcement districts, and authorizes the Sheriff and ex-officio Chief Executive Officer of each district to call a special election to authorize the renewal of a special tax therein; and

WHEREAS, the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1 of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana (the "Sub-District"), has found and determined a necessity to call a special election on Saturday, December 7, 2024 for the purposes described above;

THEREFORE, I, GARY DRISKELL, Sheriff of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana (the "Sheriff"), and ex-officio Chief Executive Officer of the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1 of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana (the "Sub-District"), pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Act, resolve that:

SECTION 1. Election Call. Subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission, and under the authority conferred by the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974, including Article VI, Section 30 thereof, the applicable provisions of the Louisiana Election Code, and other constitutional and statutory authority, a special election is hereby called and ordered to be held in the Sub-District on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024, between the hours of seven o'clock (7:00) a.m. and eight o'clock (8:00) p.m., in accordance with the provisions of La. R.S. 18:541, and at the said election there shall be submitted to all registered voters qualified and entitled to vote at the said election under the Constitution and laws of this State and the Constitution of the United States, the following proposition, to-wit:

LAW ENFORCEMENT SUB-DISTRICT NO. 1

(MILLAGE RENEWAL PROPOSITION)

Shall the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1 of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana (the "Sub-District"), be authorized to continue to levy a special tax of 10 mills on all the property subject to taxation in the Sub-District for a period of 10 years, beginning with the year 2026 and ending with the year 2035 (an estimated $288,300 reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the tax for an entire year), for the purpose of providing additional funding for the Sub-District?

SECTION 2. Publication of Notice of Election. A Notice of Special Election shall be published in the official journal of the Sub-District once a week for four consecutive weeks, with the first publication to be made not less than forty-five (45) days nor more than ninety (90) days prior to the date fixed for the election, which Notice shall be substantially in the form attached hereto as "Exhibit A" and incorporated herein by reference the same as if it were set forth herein in full.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, prior to the publication of the Notice of Election, the Sheriff is authorized and directed to make any amendments to the foregoing proposition that may be required to comply with any state or federal regulatory agencies.

SECTION 3. Canvass. The Sheriff shall conduct a meeting of the Sub-District at its regular meeting place, the Sheriff's Office, 4th Floor of Courthouse, 500 Main Street, Franklin, Louisiana, on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2025, at 9:30 A.M., and shall then and there in open and public session proceed to examine and canvass the returns and declare the result of the said special election.

SECTION 4. Polling Place. The polling place for the precinct set forth in the aforesaid Notice of Special Election is hereby designated as the polling place at which to hold the said election, and the Commissioner-in-Charge and Commissioners, respectively, will be the same persons as those designated in accordance with law.

SECTION 5. Election Commissioners; Voting Machines. The officers designated to serve as Commissioners-in-Charge and Commissioners pursuant to Section 4 hereof, or such substitutes therefor as may be selected and designated in accordance with La. R.S. 18:1287, shall hold the said special election as herein provided, and shall make due returns of said election for the meeting of the Governing Authority to be held as provided in Section 3 hereof. All registered voters in the Sub-District are entitled to vote at said special election and voting machines shall be used.

SECTION 6. Authorization of Officers. The Sheriff shall arrange for and to furnish to said election officers in ample time for the holding of said election, the necessary equipment, forms and other paraphernalia essential to the proper holding of said election and shall further take any and all further action required by State and/or Federal law to arrange for the election.

SECTION 7. Furnishing Election Call to Election Officials. Certified copies of this resolution shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State, the Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Parish Custodian of Voting Machines in and for the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana, and the Registrar of Voters in and for said Parish, as notification of the special election herein called in order that each may prepare for said election and perform their respective functions as required by law.

SECTION 8. Application to State Bond Commission. Application is made to the State Bond Commission for consent and authority to hold the aforesaid special election as herein provided, and in the event said election carries for further consent and authority to continue to levy and collect the special tax provided for therein, and a certified copy of this resolution shall be forwarded to the State Bond Commission on behalf of this Governing Authority, together with a letter requesting the prompt consideration and approval of this application.

SECTION 10. Employment of Counsel. This Governing Authority finds and determines that a real necessity exists for the employment of special counsel on matters related to the special election, and accordingly, Foley & Judell, L.L.P., is hereby employed as special counsel for said purpose for a term not exceeding one (1) year from the date of this resolution. The fee to be paid said special counsel shall be an amount computed at hourly rate based on the Attorney General's then current Maximum Hourly Fee Schedule, not to exceed $1,000 in the aggregate, together with reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, and the Sheriff is authorized to pay such invoices as and when presented. The scope of this legal representation does not involve federal claims.

Thus done, adopted and signed on this, the 14th day of August, 2024.

/s/ Gary Driskell

Sheriff and ex-officio Chief Executive Officer

of the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1 of the

Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana

EXHIBIT "A"

NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION

Pursuant to the provisions of a resolution adopted on August 14, 2024, by the Hon. Gary Driskell, Sheriff of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana (the "Sheriff"), and ex-officio Chief Executive Officer of the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1 of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana (the "Sub-District"), NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a special election will be held in the Parish of St. Mary on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024, and that at the said election there will be submitted to all registered voters in the Sub-District who are qualified and entitled to vote at the said election under the Constitution and Laws of the State of Louisiana and the Constitution of the United States, the following proposition, to-wit:

LAW ENFORCEMENT SUB-DISTRICT NO. 1

(MILLAGE RENEWAL PROPOSITION)

The said special election will be held at the polling place for the following precinct, which poll will open at seven o'clock (7:00) a.m. and close at eight o'clock (8:00) p.m., in accordance with the provisions of La. R.S. 18:541, to-wit:

PRECINCT

The polling place for the precinct set forth above is hereby designated as the polling place at which to hold the said election, and the Commissioner-in-Charge and Commissioners, respectively, shall be those persons designated according to law.

The estimated cost of this election as determined by the Secretary of State based upon the provisions of Chapter 8-A of Title 18 and actual costs of similar elections is $200.

Notice is further given that a portion of the monies collected from the tax described in the Proposition shall be remitted to certain state and statewide retirement systems in the manner required by law.

The said special election will be held in accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapter 5 and Chapter 6-A of Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority, and the officers appointed to hold the said election, as provided in this Notice of Special Election, or such substitutes therefor as may be selected and designated in accordance with La. R.S. 18:1287, will make due returns thereof to the Sheriff, and NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the Sheriff will conduct a meeting of the Sub-District at its regular meeting place, the Sheriff's Office, 4th Floor of Courthouse, 500 Main Street, Franklin, Louisiana, on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2025, at 9:30 A.M., and shall then and there in open and public session proceed to examine and canvass the returns and declare the result of the said special election. All registered voters in the Sub-District will be entitled to vote at said special election and voting machines will be used.

STATE OF LOUISIANA

PARISH OF St. Mary

I, the undersigned Sheriff of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana (the "Sheriff"), and ex-officio Chief Executive Officer of the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1 of the Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana (the "Sub-District"), do hereby certify that the foregoing pages constitute a true and correct copy of the proceedings taken by the Sheriff on August 14, 2024, ordering and calling a special election to be held in the Sub-District to authorize the renewal of a special tax therein, making application to the State Bond Commission and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

IN FAITH WHEREOF, witness my official signature at Franklin, Louisiana, on this, the 14th day of August, 2024.

Sheriff and ex-officio Chief Executive Officer

of the Law Enforcement Sub-District No. 1 of the

Parish of St. Mary, State of Louisiana