Police chief puts off raise request; fire chief seeks compensation

PATTERSON — Police Chief Garrett Grogan put off his request for a $21,000 pay raise Tuesday. So it was the volunteer fire chief who came to the City Council to ask for compensation.

Also Tuesday, council members got a look at the proposed city budget for 2022-23; heard a request for a joint meeting of the council and the Planning and Zoning Commission to talk about a new city zoning map; and kicked around a proposed ordinance that would effectively ban large farm animals from being housed in the city.

Pay
The agenda included a request from the police chief for a raise in his annual pay to $75,000 from $54,000.

Voters paved the way for Grogan to get the raise as soon as the City Council approves it. They approved a charter amendment March 26 to allow the chief to receive a pay hike in the same four-year term in which the council approves it.

But Grogan withdrew the item from consideration Tuesday.

“I haven’t had a chance to sit down with the council yet,” Grogan said after the meeting, “and make it fit the budget.”

Fire Chief Scott Hut-ton came forward to ask for a stipend for his work leading the Volunteer Fire Department.

Hutton, the chief since 2020, said leadership of the department, and not just going to fires, takes many hours each month, some of which require him to take time off work.

Hutton said he’s asking for $500 to $600 each month as well as part-time clerical help with the paperwork.

The Patterson budget once contained a stipend for the chief, but not since 2020. That was the year that a state legislative auditor’s report accused the former chief of spending $14,000 in department funds on personal items. He was later booked on theft and malfeasance charges.

The council made no decision Tuesday.

Hutton also reported that the fire district serving the city of Patterson received an Insurance Services Office rating of 5, while the area served by the Patterson volunteers but outside the city limits received a rating of 7.

The ISO rates departments on a scale of 1-10. The lower the number, the cheaper home and business insurance will be. Half the rating is based on the department’s quality, including training and staffing levels; 40% is based on the availability of water; and 10% comes from the quality of the 911 service. Communities can improve their rating with outreach such as fire prevention presentations.

Budget

The council heard the introduction of the budget for the fiscal year that begins June 30.

The budget anticipates $8.9 million in revenue next year, including about $3.2 million from taxes and $3.6 million from utilities. The budget anticipates an increase of about $23,000 in tax revenue and a $52,000 decrease in utility revenue.

Expenses are expected to total $8.7 million. The budget anticipates $898,000 in spending on general government, $1.9 million on police, $724,000 on roads; and $774,000 on capital projects and items..

If the legislation follows the normal course, the ordinance would come up for a public hearing and passage vote June 7.

Zoning

Pat Gordon of the South Central Planning and Development Com-mission suggested a meeting with the council and zoning commission members to talk about the redrawing of Patterson’s zoning map that is underway by the com-mission staff.

Mayor Rodney Grogan suggested a yet-to-be-determined date in June.

Gordon also said the process will require public participation.

“This isn’t going to be South Central Planning’s plan,” Gordon said. “It’s going to be your plan.”

Among the issues involved are where mobile homes will be allowed to be located in the future, and what to do about the prospect of what Gordon called sexually oriented businesses, such as strip clubs, moving into the city. The shorthand is “SOBs.”

The mayor also said he believes Patterson should have property zoned for industry such as manufacturing. The need to seek a rezoning might discourage a prospective employer, Grogan said.

“We need to be ready,” Grogan said. “We need to be shovel-ready.”

Animals

The council tabled a proposed ordinance that would toughen the rules about keeping livestock in the city.

Under current ordinances, farm animals can be kept within the city limits provided there’s an acre of land for each along with suitable accommodations. Technically, the ordinance would apply to poultry, but Mayor Grogan said the real problems come from bigger animals, such as ponies, donkeys and goats.

The Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended doing away with the one-acre exemption, effectively banning farm animals from being kept in the city.

On Tuesday, council members heard from one of their own, Joe Russo, who has been an agriculture science teacher for 26 years.

Russo said he doesn’t feel right telling someone they can’t keep an animal on their property.

The council will also have to figure out what to do about animals that fall in the farm animal category but are primarily pets, such as pot-bellied pigs.

Also Tuesday:

—The council agreed to lease space at the old junior high school to 100 Black Men of St. Mary Parish, a group of men who mentor young people. The rent will be $400 per month for two years.

—The council approved an agreement between the Patterson and Franklin police departments. Patterson police will lend Franklin officers video surveil-lance equipment to help Franklin improve security after a recent string of violent incidents.