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Court requires local governments to be added to DA's lawsuit over funding, Hillar Moore says
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BATON ROUGE — District Attorney Hillar Moore told WBRZ that, as required by a court order, several local city governments will be added as parties to its lawsuit that seeks more funding for the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office.
In April, the DA's Office filed suit against the city-parish government over what Moore called inadequate funding for his office.
"We believe that to be fully operational, our office budget should be at $22 million, and we're at $8 million. We don't have the ability to hire any new attorneys at this point. We will run out of money before the end of the year," Moore told WBRZ.
In a Wednesday hearing, a judge ruled that local municipalities in East Baton Rouge Parish, including Baton Rouge, Zachary, Central and St. George, must be added to the lawsuit.
"The court indicated that due to fundamental fairness, he felt that the other cities should be made an indispensable party," Moore said.
Moore told WBRZ he thought the motion should've been denied.
"It is important to be clear: this was a ruling of the Court. Our Office did not initially name the municipalities, and we have not sought to make this a dispute with our local mayors or city governments," Moore said in a statement. "In our opinion, the law is clear that we're not allowed to, that we're only allowed to go after, for our fair share, the parish," he added.
The DA said he personally contacted each municipality's mayor about the court's ruling and to make clear that his office remains committed to working together with each of them.
"Whether a case comes from Baton Rouge, Baker, Zachary, Central, St. George, or an unincorporated area, our responsibility is the same. Public safety does not stop at municipal boundaries, and neither does our commitment to the people we serve," Moore said.
Last year, voters rejected a tax proposal that would have raised about $22 million annually for his office. Moore said that failure left him with no choice but to seek funding through the courts, arguing that the money is required by law.
City-parish leaders said they have already increased funding, but must balance multiple priorities across the criminal justice system.
Central Mayor Wade Evans believes that the judge is wrong in their assessment.
"We're not going to agree to this; we're going to fight it, and we believe it's unconstitutional. We believe it's not our responsibility to take care of a parish-wide problem," Evans told WBRZ.
Evans feels that this situation never should’ve had to come about.
Meanwhile, East Baton Rouge Metro Councilwoman Jen Racca praised the court's order.
"I'm ready to see how all the municipalities work together to figure out how the funding mechanisms will be in the future," Racca told WBRZ after Wednesday afternoon's council meeting.
Evans was critical of the EBR Metro Council, saying that this situation never should have come about.
"Unfortunately, the parish government and the parish council have failed to do their job, and it's forced Hillar (Moore) to do what he has to do," Evans said.
Racca pushed back against Evans' comments, saying, "Every single year, we have budget hearings. The Mayor presents his or her budget. The Council looks at the budget and attempts to make any necessary changes to that budget. This parish council has funded the DA's office and all the other constitutional offices to the best of our ability."
According to Moore, no date has been set for when the next hearing in the case will be. EBR Mayor-President Sid Edwards' office told WBRZ that it has no comment because it's an ongoing litigation.
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