Amid a tempestuous atmosphere, residents at a public hearing raised serveral concerns about a proposed new jail facility for Sheriff Marlin Gusman.
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 focused on its public-safety budget today, scrutinizing the money it spends on its police and fire departments, ambulance, and emergency preparedness.
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.
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.
Sheriff Marlin Gusman said Tuesday that his 400 new temporary jail beds will add to the total number of inmates in his custody, despite what he told The Lens and Fox8 News last month.
Despite publicly committing to a “smaller, safer jail” in recent weeks, Sheriff Marlin Gusman sent architects a plan calling for 8,000 beds in his complex by 2020.