In just a few weeks St Tammany residents will vote to renew a millage for the sheriff’s department.
“Our current max, what we are allowed to levy, is 4.66, but the sheriff elected to only levy 4.31,” the sheriff’s department’s CFO, Lauren Hudson, said.
During a sit-down interview with WDSU, Hudson explains it’s a decades-old millage that is up for renewal every 10 years.
“Well, if it’s a renewal of a millage here in St. Tammany, I’ll vote for it.” One resident said.
Meanwhile, others like Larry Campbell said he’s not too sure
“I’m on the fence with that; they have to show me more organization than that,” Campbell said.
He tells WDSU after the assault allegations made against Sheriff Randy Smith, his trust in the department has declined.
“I can’t trust that, because, like I said, they knew better even though it was their boss.”
“Regardless of what happened, this millage supports the men and women that are on the streets keeping our family safe,” Hudson said.
Hudson said the money goes directly to the deputies, adding she’s already had to cut 14 vacant positions to meet the budget.
So if this doesn’t pass, “we would have some really hard decisions to make,” Hudson said, “I’m going to be honest with you, we already have hard decisions to make because of the situation with the jail.”
READ MORE:St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Department millage is up for renewal
