Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Criminal Justice Working Group on Tuesday held the first of two public hearings to get the public’s input on the size of a new jail.
Sheriff Marlin Gusman would be willing to move away from being paid a daily rate by the city per inmate, he told a City Council budget hearing this afternoon.
The City Council held the first of three budget hearings on public safety today, with Councilwoman Susan Guidry leading a charge for more openness and efficiency in the system.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu may consider paying Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman a flat fee to keep city inmates in his jail, rather than the current daily-rate arrangement which a consultant said only encourages more incarceration.
Anticipating a draft report this afternoon on the appropriate size of a new city jail, a coalition of smaller-jail advocates have renewed the call for an 850-bed jail in line with national averages.
In an unusual move, Mayor Mitch Landrieu awarded Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman a contract in October for more than Gusman originally bid – and for more than the lowest bidder for the same deal.
Update: The council voted today 6-1 in favor of the cameras, with Jon Johnson dissenting.
The city has until Friday to reach a deal with Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman over security at the Criminal District Courthouse, or Gusman could still cause closure
The judges in Criminal District Court have met this morning and voted to shut down the courthouse if Sheriff Marlin Gusman pulls his security at noon, as they are expecting, a spokeswoman said.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman partially will follow through Tuesday morning on his threat to pull some security from the Criminal District Court building unless the city pays him an extra $500,000.