Patterson council sets salary for chief

The next Patterson police chief’s city salary will be $53,000 a year, provided the new chief has passed state training.
The city council moved Tuesday to set the chief’s salary. A chief without certification will make $38,400 per year.
The $53,000 does not include $500 per month in state supplemental pay that goes to officers with certification from the Peace Officer Standard Training Council.
POST certification is administered by a council composed of state and local law enforcement officials. There are separate certifications for police officers, jailers and corrections officers.
Under the Patterson charter, the police chief is elected. Longtime Chief Patrick LaSalle resigned in March, setting up an election this fall to choose his successor.
Qualifying will be July 18-20. The primary will be Nov. 6, and the runoff, if needed, would be Dec. 8.
Janis Merritt was chosen by the council after LaSalle resigned to serve as interim chief. The charter prohibits the interim chief from running for the office.
Also Tuesday, the council moved to make driving a little smoother on some Patterson streets.
Last month, the council learned that it was getting $450,000 from the St. Mary Parish government for road work.
On Tuesday, the council agreed to seek bids for asphalt overlay on these streets: Kem, Leon, Jason, Wedell, Loveland, Callahan, Morey, Andrew, Burney and Hurst. The alternate streets, if the bids come in low enough to allow more work, are Railroad, Waveland and Hickory.