East Feliciana grassroots group seeks switch from police jury to home-rule charter to give citizens more power

# What the proposal is

# Why organizers are pushing for this

Organizers Juanita Parks and Jim Moss point to two motivations: potential economic opportunity and local examples of perceived improvement after other parishes switched forms of government. Parks began researching government forms earlier this year after reading about a possible data center in St. Francisville that could bring economic benefits.

Parks and Moss cite Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana parishes as local examples where switching to a home-rule charter coincided with increased budgets and visible public works—fixing roads, bridges, and renovating buildings.

# What would change in practice

Under a home-rule charter, the parish government typically separates duties between an executive and a legislative body rather than a board of police jurors sharing authority. The group says this split can change how budgets are developed and how projects are prioritized.

# The path to a home-rule charter

There are two legal paths to form a charter commission:

• If enough members of the existing police jury vote to give up their current power, the police jury can authorize a group of citizens to study and draft a new plan of government. That group becomes a charter commission.

# Current political environment

# Next steps the group plans

East Feliciana Future Now plans more public meetings aimed at educating residents about the charter option and collecting the signatures required if the police jury does not initiate the process.

# What to watch

• Whether the police jury will vote to start a charter commission process.
• How many voters the grassroots group can mobilize to reach the signature threshold in six months if needed.
• Any public debate about trade-offs between the police jury system and a charter government, including how power, budgets, and project priorities would shift.

The group frames the change as a way to increase citizen power and attract or better handle economic developments. The police jury system has deep historical roots in Louisiana, and any change will require either elected officials' cooperation or a concerted citizen petition effort.